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March wall committee article

By Kate & Ken Gooderham

We'd like to thank the community for its strong showing at the Jan. 24 meeting on the Summerlin wall. It's gratifying to see so many people willing to give up part of their weekend to find out more about this issue, and the range of questions was a sign of the intense interest. We hope everyone came away with more facts about this project, and with the accurate background needed to make up your mind one way or the other.

 As has been stressed throughout this discussion, this is a community issue. No one else gets to decide whether the wall is replaced -- not the county, not the state, not the civic association. If a majority of property owners in Whiskey Creek do not support this project, it will not move forward.

 That also means it's time for the community to pick up whatever momentum for this project that has been generated by the all-volunteer Summerlin Wall committee and keep this effort moving toward its 800-petition goal. These volunteers have donated hundreds of hours to help research this issue, meet with county staff and local residents, and help inform their neighbors about this unique opportunity to replace the aging and decrepit wall. If the community thinks this is a good idea, it is time for everyone to pitch in and sign their petitions. If you wait until someone thinks it's a good idea for you, this project will not happen.

 An aside about the cost: We have been saying this was a chance to get a better wall at a better price, by working in conjunction with the Summerlin Road construction and plans to build a new wall north of the golf course canal. Here's why: Recent estimates for a six-foot-high concrete block wall like the one in place now have been running $145-$150 per linear foot to construct. The hard estimate from the county's contractor for the proposed new wall -- which would be eight feet high with prestressed concrete panels placed in a pillar and foot construction -- is running around $160 per linear foot. If the community ever tried to put in such a wall on its own, the price we would be charged would certainly be much higher...but, because we can piggyback on the county's contract, we have the chance to get an exceptional price for a much better wall.

CLARIFICATION: In the interest of accuracy, we'd like to correct two misstatements made in an article published in last month's "Whiskey Creek News" by resident Robert Faller:

 1) The county contractor has told DOT officials that the wall construction would take 60 days, not six months as Mr. Faller stated. Whether the wall would be removed and rebuilt all at once or in phases is a decision the contractor will make once a construction schedule is being finalized.

 2) Vegetation near the new wall would be trimmed back or removed as necessary, to allow for construction and to ensure the wall's stability in the future. (Large trees with expanding root systems undermine concrete walls, as anyone can see looking at the current wall.) But not all vegetation would need to be removed. (We assume that adjacent vegetation would also need to be trimmed back if the existing wall were to be repaired and repainted, as no qualified contractor would want to work under those conditions if they wanted to do a good job in a timely manner.)

 Want more information on this project?

• Send an e-mail to whiskeycreekwall@gmail.com.
• Leave a voicemail message at or send a fax to (877) 871-9223.
• Information and blank petitions are available online at www.whiskeycreeknews.net.
• Come to the monthly meetings of the Whiskey Creek Civic Association, held at 7 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month at the Whiskey Creek Country Club.

Bottom line: The wall won't get fixed unless the community supports it.

 

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