ICISD is spending over $125,000 in taxpayer dollars on paving the GMPL, plus another $9,500+ in surveying and topography services.
The Grand Mistake Parking Lot ("GMPL") suffered yet another setback on May 19, 2023 during its construction. Within days of the May 12, 2023 flood and only a day or so after pouring the concrete and removing the forms, another flood occurred before the construction on the lot was complete. Approximately 1 and 1/2 inches of rain fell in just over an hour on May 19, 2023 and washed away most of the caliche base before any blacktop could be put down. The photos below, taken on May 21, 2023, show why this parking lot has earned its name as a Grand Mistake. The project also stands out as putting the 2019 bond package in the red.
Note the two holes, apparently for draining water, in the cement at the corner. In the foreground is the City of Mertzon's right of way/shoulder for 5th Street showing caliche base from the higher portion of the GMPL and evidence of erosion already showing.
The "inside" of the GMPL looking northwest shows the waterline from the flood and the missing caliche base. What's left here is going to have to be removed, new base brought in and repacked, if the project is going to be saved. The better option is to stop now and implement the green parking that I recommended to the District and its lawyers.
The inside northwest corner of the GMPL showing the flood water line above the two holes. Apparently the approximately 1 and 1/2 inches of rain was more than the two drain holes could manage and the floodwaters went above them. My yardstick shows the level just above 26 inches. That's more than enough water for a child to drown in.
Here's the measurement on the exterior of the wall. Note the erosion already showing in the foreground. The cement is already failing from the force of the storm waters. Given the timing, it is probable the concrete was not given enough time to cure before the forms were removed and the second storm arrived on May 19, 2023.
This shows the caliche base from the GMPL in the street at 5th and Juanita. Neither the City or ICISD own a street sweeper, so this debris will remain in the roadway until traffic in the area forms a path or until the next rain. The darker pavement on the left is the new paving that ICISD paid for on the west end of Juanita street. Taxpayers are getting hit twice here. My 2+ years of failed efforts to get Mayor Taylor's city council to implement regulations that prohibit new construction from dumping storm water into our streets results in disastrous construction like the GMPL, and folks like ICISD Supt. DeSpain and the school board try to pass the buck. Of course, what is especially transparent is that ICISD is flooding itself, giving taxpayers a double whammy, while expecting no one will speak up and state the obvious. This parking lot is a Grand Mistake if there ever was one.
This is caliche base storm water blocking entry to my property on Fleming washed down from the GMPL two days after the May 19, 2023 flood. Debris from the GMPL caliche base is easy to see up close. I regularly see young drivers, not realizing the potholes beneath the water, speed up through the water for the splash fun. ICISD saddles city taxpayers with water logged streets, while ICISD looks away and ignores the costs and safety issues it has created. And, of course, it is this very water, combined with runoff from City Gym, that ends up flooding the football stadium. So, the GMPL serves as yet another lesson on government flooding itself. Yes, our government will flood itself, not learn anything, and then do it again. This is a terrible waste of taxpayer dollars, and it is creating extraordinary safety hazards that never existed before.