Montrose, CO — Repair work continues at Altrusa Park due to multiple breaks in the irrigation system and supply chain issues that have delayed critical repairs. Similar issues are affecting other parks around the community.
The City of Montrose Public Works Department maintains 36 developed parks on 160 acres within the city limits. Due to supply chain shortages, routine maintenance that occurs each spring was delayed as critical parts were not available.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the irrigation pump at Altrusa Park had failed and needed to be replaced. In the meantime, Altrusa Park was being watered during daytime hours because the system was being controlled manually by city parks staff.
“We have had to make changes to the system based on what materials are available. Many materials are not available off the shelf anymore as they were in the past so we are at the mercy of the supply chain,” Scheid said. “We do keep as many replacement parts on hand as we can, but oftentimes the one item that fails is the one that we don't have.”
Scheid reported that irrigation systems in other city parks, including Riverbottom Park, are also experiencing problems due to a lack of parts for routine maintenance. Parts to complete repairs to the Altrusa Park system were due to arrive this week, according to Scheid. He added that repairs to irrigation systems in other city parks will be completed as soon as the parts arrive.
“We are doing everything we can to get the problems resolved as quickly as possible,” Scheid said. “The grass does look bad but it is not dead and it will return to the green that we are used to seeing.”
While material availability is difficult to predict due to supply chain issues, the city is also experiencing staff shortages as the city’s Parks Division is currently operating with 50% of the full-time staff and only 10% of the annual seasonal staff.
The city has many openings, full-time, part-time, and seasonal positions within the Parks Division. For more information about being part of the Parks team visit the city's employment webpage.
For more city news visit CityOfMontrose.org.