As seen on Dec. 17, barricades make sure no one trips where the cover of an expansion joint had disappeared.
The first of this month I pointed out a gap in Albany’s Dave Clark Riverfront Path, where the metal cap of an expansion joint had gone missing. Turns out that replacing the cap or cover is not cheap.
In his Friday report to the city council, City Manager Peter Troedsson said there had been much more vandalism of all kinds in November and December. He mentioned the incident on the Clark Path as just one example.
“The cover for an expansion joint near the Wheelhouse was stolen,” he wrote. “The replacement part costs over $1,000 and is on order.”
The stated cost surprised me. I had thought it would have been a simple matter of getting someone to fashion a 10-foot-long, narrow strip of steel or aluminum and screwing it down so it could slide over the other side as the structure expands and contracts.
I asked Rick Barnett about that possibility. He’s the parks and facilities maintenance manager in Albany Parks and Recreation.
“The piece is ordered so at this point locally doesn’t work,” he replied Monday. “Because of liability we hesitate to do anything but replacement of the original with the same on things like this. I think $1,000 is an awful lot as well, but we actually have to replace two hinged pieces to make it work.”
That missing piece of metal had been loose for some time, making a clattering sound every time I rode the bike across it. But why somebody would have wanted to steal it I have no idea. (hh)
Here you can see how far the slab in the foreground has slipped
Likely for money (metal recycling) or for the building of a structure for an unhoused person?
I’m sure it was for the small amount of money that thieves can get for the metal value
One slab has settled several inches over the years. The settled slab should be removed and replaced so it is flush with the adjacent slab. After that the metal cap over the expansion joint could be reinstalled. That would be the right way to fix this problem.
Maybe the slab can be raised like they show in the TerraFirma commercials. Pump some expanding foam under the slab to raise it flush with the adjacent slab.
I think we all appreciate the Albany travels and observations of Mr. Hering. The downside is that each structural observation potentially opens the door for the tax and spend mentality that is an engrained part of the city council. The mentality more accurately is to attach more FEES and spend because utility (electric, internet, cable, water and trash disposal) consumers certainly have unlimited financial resources. No plan for recurring maintenance and upkeep across the board…no problem just add more fees for a glaring lack of accountability and recurring maintenance. No budget to bury electric wires and cables…no problem just add a large ambiguous fee for electricity. Maybe just maybe Albany could not afford a legacy monument right after a worldwide pandemic that altered the lives of all Americans. I guess we can feel blessed and fortunate that Albany hasn’t attempted the employee only payroll tax that Salem tried and failed at the ballot box. Thankfully there are probably not enough Albany based employees to fill the trough!
The problem with these “fees” to fix things is that they won’t go away once the problem is paid for. They’ll just continue to charge us and probably keep adding fees. It seems to me like just an excuse for poor financial responsibility by the city.
Is theft of this nature not covered by insurance? Oh and lets blame the unhoused, maybe. Now fees……how do you propose to keep things working? Whether you are a business or residence you have to “pay” for this. If you want a viable, growing, community you have to take care of it. The days of the cheap fix are no longer with us.
I would tend to believe that the concept of a viable growing community is subjective perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I don’t really envision any of my neighbors ripping metal out of public pavement or sidewalks and kicking metal out of scenic overview railings.
So conceptually the council had no project responsibility to recognize and budget in advance for cables and wires to be buried which now directly causes a vaguely determined fee to Albany electric consumers? Do you believe my entire earnings actually belong to the city of Albany and they are only doing me a solid to keep a portion of the proceeds?
So let’s paraphrase Merle Haggard:
The price of life is too high to give up
It’s got to come down again
When the city council goes through the council door
And does what they say they will do
We’ll all be drinking that free Bubble Up
And eating that rainbow stew
Eating rainbow stew with a silver spoon
Underneath that sky of blue
We’ll all be drinking that free Bubble Up
And eating that rainbow stew