At the recent board to board meeting that took place on Wednesday, July 17, Dolores representatives spoke of plans to rewire the electric at Joe Rowell Park’s pavilion because it has been deemed a danger to park users.
On Monday, Dolores Town Manager Leigh Reeves told The Journal that the unsafe wiring was discovered right before the Dolores River Fest in June.
The pavilion wiring also powers the baseball fields. It is used during events like River Fest by vendors.
During that time, the town discovered that the wiring, after years of vandalism, weather and routine usage, had become unsafe.
“It became a dangerous situation, and if you went in there and tried to turn on the lights in the pavilion or something, it just wasn’t safe anymore for a non-electrician,” Reeves said.
An emergency resolution was passed soon after to fix the electric wiring for the park.
To prevent the same issue from arising in the future, Reeves said the town has installed a small tiny shedlike building made of metal to house the new wiring.
“It’s weatherproof, and we won’t have this issue again,” Reeves said. “So, essentially, when the ‘house’ is done, there will be some connectors outside that people can use, but they can’t get into the building itself.”
The pavilion would reopen after repairs are made.
Cruzan Construction is handling the project, and Reeves said they are hopeful the project will be completed before Escalante Days on Saturday, Aug. 10.
The three-day festival usually takes place in Flander’s Park, but this year, it was scheduled for Joe Rowell Park.
In the summer of 2020, the park’s playground reopened after a period of being closed due to play structure safety concerns. After receiving a grant totaling $173,400 from Great Outdoors Colorado, the playground was refurbished and reopened to local children.
A later grant from KaBoom! for $80,000 was awarded later to build equipment for children ages 2 to 5 years old.