Rusch Park restroom repairs face further delays

By Sara Beth Williams–
The restrooms on the east side of Rusch Community Park still appear to be closed, as of May 30.

Three portable toilets still stand in front of the restroom facilities at Rusch Park, nearest the Community Center, where they have been since at least February. Previously, the Sunrise Recreation and Park District had anticipated reopening the restrooms in April of this year.

“We have had a few small setbacks with the RFP bid process but are moving forward,” Sunrise Recreation and Park District Administrator Kevin Huntzinger told The Sentinel on Thursday. Huntzinger said that the initial application deadline for the first round of bids was April 5, and after review in April, the district found no qualifying bids for the project.

There are several things that can disqualify a bid, Huntzinger explained, including a contractor’s estimate being much higher than the engineer’s initial estimate and whether a contractor isn’t properly bonded or insured.

Huntzinger said he and his staff “refined the scope” of the restroom repair project and plan to send out the new bid next week. Because of the required timeline of the contract bidding process, which includes pre-bid walk-throughs by contractors, a review of submitted contract bids, among other steps, Huntzinger could not confirm a timeline of when the restrooms would be repaired, but hinted that the process will take two or more months.

The initial closure was due to the failure of two sewer ejector discharge pumps, according to an email from Wayne Edmundson, superintendent of Parks and Facilities at Sunrise Recreation and Park District.

Edmundson told The Sentinel in February that the restroom building has been a frequent target of vandalism, and in the past few years, the park district has spent “a small fortune” trying to keep the facility operational. The pumps become damaged when large materials and solid objects are flushed down the system.

Except for the restrooms specifically used inside the pool, there is only one public restroom facility on the east side, which features a basketball court, two playgrounds, a large, covered picnic area, several small picnic areas, and a nearby skateboarding park.

Two other restroom facilities are located on the west side of the park near the baseball diamonds and the Rush Drive parking lot.