Financial woes cause Medea Creek repair delay

Oak Park residents will have to wait several more months before a stretch of trail along Medea Creek will be reopened for public use.

According to Larry Peterson, general manager for Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, environmental issues and financial problems are to blame for postponing the repairs on a failed slope along Medea Creek near Oak Park High School.

Peterson said the relatively small project, once started, would take only a few weeks to complete.

Erosion created a hole about 30 to 40 feet in diameter and 15 feet deep along the path used by walkers and bicyclists.

The fenced-off portion of the trail connects the Oak Park Library to the high school.

"You can get through if you need to, but we really need to stop the continual erosion and bring some stability to the area," Peteson said.

The project's most recent problems are money-related.

In January, the park district awarded a $49,000 contract to Nocis General Engineering to fill a sinkhole at the creek with approximately 240 cubic yards of boulders and 660 cubic yards of gravel.

But during its June 4 meeting, the district's board of directors rescinded the contract because Nocis didn'thave the "financial capability" to complete the work, a staff report said.

A temporary water diversion around the work is also included in the project.

"The idea is to replace some of the debris that was removed and replace it with large rocks . . . and then we will hopefully be able to restore the trail there," Peterson said.

An environmental review said there were nesting birds near the work site, forcing construction to be pushed back from the proposed start date of April 3 to June 1.

But about the time construction was slated to resume, the contractor's financial problems surfaced.

Nocis faces financial default on another park district contract, officials said. .

The district will need to find another contractor to complete the Medea Creek work. The issue will be on the June 18 agenda for the district's board of directors.

Funding for the project remains in place.

"The funding has not been an issue. We put it there a long time ago," Peterson said. "But now our obstacle will be to get a new contractor."

Peterson was hesitant to give an exact completion date, but said work should start immediately once bids are solicited and a new contractor is found.

"We're looking at this calendar year, so before December and hopefully before that," he said.