The city thus far has spent $67,460 on renovating the park, which was heavily damaged by a tornado last summer. About $161,400 worth of cleanup/renovation work remains.

TONY JUDNICH @Tonyjnwfdn

FORT WALTON BEACH – City officials hope to have all remaining renovations to Ferry Park completed by spring, City Manager Michael Beedie said last Friday.

The city thus far has spent $67,460 on renovating the park, which was heavily damaged by a tornado last summer. About $161,400 worth of cleanup/renovation work remains.

The storm slammed the park on June 21, with the majority of the wreckage occurring to the park’s two baseball/softball fields.

City workers and volunteers began clean-up and restoration efforts at the recreation area five days after the storm. Later, FWB officials decided to convert the baseball/softball fields into one large, multi-purpose athletic field, where sports such as football, flag football, lacrosse and soccer can also be enjoyed.

The park’s cleanup/renovation expenses total $228,860. Beedie said that represents the most amount of storm damage that has occurred to a Fort Walton Beach park since he began working for the city in 2005.

In a Dec. 12 memo to Beedie, city Recreational and Cultural Services Director Jeff Peters listed the following park items that have been repaired/replaced thus far:

Two pavilions ($15,700) Demolition of dugouts/fencing ($7,000) Purchase of replacement basketball goals ($3,000) Purchase of two sets of bleachers ($37,260) Completed grading plans for a multi-purpose athletic field ($4,500).

The City Council recently gave staff the go-ahead to complete the remaining renovations. These expenses consist of:

Replacing 1,400 linear feet of fencing ($21,000) Concrete light pole relocation ($11,400) Light fixtures and brackets ($13,000) Installation of light poles and fixtures ($31,000) Wiring and electrical service ($10,000) Fill material/grading ($15,000) Irrigation materials, well pump and labor ($25,000) Sod purchase and installation ($35,000).

Staff will issue an invitation to bid to contractors for each item that is estimated to cost more than $20,000. The award for each of those items will come back to the council for approval, Peters said in the memo.

He said the city has thus far received $122,812.16 from its insurance company for the overall park damages. The city’s $25,000 was subtracted prior to the payout. The balance that has not been reimbursed by the insurance company is $106,047.84.

Peters said the city will use any outstanding insurance reimbursement, as well as city general fund money, to cover the cost of park items that still must be repaired or replaced. Once the remaining work is completed, the city will submit another reimbursement request for city labor on the cleanup for an estimated $15,000.

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