City completes grading

A lot has happened since the last posting. The City crew continued adding and moving dirt around. After it became clear that the courts wouldn't fit, the City relented and brought in some extra horsepower to cut into the East slope and dig the hole 2.5 feet deeper. They worked hard all day and finished by close of business on the 11th. For a little while, we thought we could finish our part (drainage ditches, poles, final grading, gravel substrate) before the deadline for sand delivery on Monday the 15th, but alas, there was too little time. As expected, the site has a serious drainage problem, and we didn't want to rush to the wrong solution and waste all our efforts. Unfortunately, we had to tell our sand supplier and new volleyball friend, David Gallagher, thanks but no thanks, which was a big disappointment because we were to receive that sand at a 66% discount.

These are just a glimpses of the large amount of dirt that was brought in.



We ended up with nearly what the grading plan designated...a large flat bowl with a 3 foot rim all the way around the edge...and it's only a couple feet smaller than we planned. We still think we can make it work.


Note the huge pond in the SE corner that we now need to deal with...

Day2 and Day3 of Court Construction

The City crew has done a lot of work leveling the site. We have some concerns with the width being too narrow and the elevation being too high. We'll talk with the City folks tomorrow, hopefully, to understand their plan and propose ideas.


The southeast corner where they've cut into the bank is wet...perhaps from a spring. The ground is very spongy. Good on the knees, but we'll need an excellent drainage system to ensure the water goes elsewhere. You can see what's wet just by the color of the dirt.


Here Dave and Chris are checking out the extent of the soft, wet ground.


George expressing our general feelings about the small size of the court area due, it appears, to a hesitancy to kill some scrubby birch trees.

Court Construction Begins!

On September 2nd, after the City submitted and gained approval of the appropriate permits, city workers began construction by leveling the site.


Meanwhile, Gregg secured a sweet deal on sand and two complete net systems from Narrows Plaza Bowl in Tacoma, which decided to discontinue its parking lot courts. But there was a catch...the sand needs to be moved by September 15th!

Way Back in January 2008...

With encouragement from City Manager Rob Karlinsey, volleyball enthusiasts Gregg, Cliff, Dave, George, and Chris descended upon the Parks Commission with an idea to build two sand volleyball courts in Gig Harbor. After a detailed trade study and much discussion about feline defecation habits, the group settled on a location at the southeast corner of the BMX Bike Park at the corner of 96th and Crescent Valley Drive. By the middle of April, the project was approved by the City Council.


The group's efforts to cooperate with BMX bikers and city officials were highlighted in a Peninsula Gateway article by reporter Paige Richmond.
See http://www.gateline.com/104/story/1243.html

A couple months later, the group had lined up the necessary monies to pay for the courts...thanks to monetary contributions from Peninsula Athletic Association and PenMet Parks, and volunteered service and labor from local businesses and individuals.

From the Seaside Volleyball Mens' A Quads tournament in August, this is an example why we need a sand court for practice in Gig Harbor...Roof!