The Flowrider is down for the summer season at the Electric City Water Park.
In August 2024, City Commissioners approved a single-source contract to International Foam Pros for $128,900 to resurface the Flowrider.
The project was delayed due to weather and crews coming from Texas for the repairs, according to city staff.
The crews needed a consistent two weeks of weather above 60 degrees bore the facility opened for the summer, Jessica Compton, interim Park and Recreation director, told The Electric.
City awards Flowrider repair contract [2024]
The construction would shut down the entire unit, including the lazy river, so the repair is now scheduled for this fall, after the water park closes for the season.
Compton said they anticipate the Flowrider being operational again for the 2026 summer season.
“Park and Recreation knows how important and popular this piece of equipment is not only to our community but to guests,” Compton told The Electric.
The city’s Flowrider is one of the originals, so repair and maintenance is available from select companies, she said.
The Flowrider has been unusable for the past two operating seasons at the water part and the current condition has reached “surface material failure,” Park and Rec said last year.
Commissioners approve contract to finish splash pad project at water park [2024]
The top layer should have a smooth glass like surface but has gone porous, allowing moisture into the sublevel and making the top level rough so surf pads can’t glide across the water correctly, according to the August 2024 staff report.
The Flowrider was originally installed in 2001 and has had major repairs and resurfacing in 2006, 2010, 2013 and 2016, according to Park and Rec.
Once the existing foam is pulled up, the city will address any concrete issues as quickly as possible to keep the project moving and the contractor will not be responsible for the concrete, city staff said while awarding the contract last year.
City water park closed for repair project July 29-30 [2024]
Under the contract, International Foam Pros will tear down the existing foam slides, resurface them with a new one-inch foam, foam coating and top coating.
The project includes 1,600-square feet of new foam with 700-square feet of recoating the exit area light blue.
The project will be funded through the swimming pools cash balance and was included in the budget that commissioners approved in July 2024.
City approves water park splash pad contracts [2024]
Steve Herrig, former Park and Rec director, requested to sole source the contract since not many contractors have the expertise and availability for such a project. Herrig wrote in his request that it’s a specialized water feature with aged equipment, limiting options.
He wrote that staff contacted International Foam Pros in 2024 about their ability and availability for the project and after a site visit and discussion with staff, provided a favorable quote.
