2 minute read
Adapt & Overcome
By Luke Bolinger, CPRP, Community Partnership & Special Projects Manager, Town of Erie
Adapt and overcome. It’s a phrase I heard a lot during my ten years in the United States Marine Corps, both as a follower and a leader. Adapt to the changing circumstances – what you think you were going to do is no longer applicable. Overcome – make a decision, charge ahead, and accomplish your mission. Sounds familiar, right? We’ve all had to adapt and overcome this year. What we thought we were going to do in 2020 is no longer applicable. We’ve had some significant obstacles – rapidly changing orders and restrictions, upset patrons and program participants, abrupt stops to projects, but that’s what we do as Parks & Recreation professionals – we find a way to adapt and overcome. I saw this mode of operation play out in the development of Erie’s Clayton Park. The excitement around Erie’s newest neighborhood park was palpable. The park would support Erie’s growing sports programs with two ballfields and a multipurpose field, a half-court basketball court, a small amphitheater, a clovershaped playground with a boulder hill slide, and a loop trail.
Clayton Park
The two-year planning was complicated. Because the park is partially funded by the community developer, it wasn’t a typical “design-bid-build” project. After negotiations for financing were complete, and the community had given their input, we had a master plan. The construction documents were developed, and finally, we were ready to build. We would hold construction site tours, complete with hard hats, safety vests, refreshments, and the opportunity to engage with our project partners and staff! We had visions of fancy gold shovels and smiling photos of staff and community. Then COVID happened. While construction moved forward, our hopes of engaging the community onsite fell apart. So what? Adapt and overcome. Our management approach changed overnight. Going virtual is not that simple. The OAC meetings, ASIs, RFIs, COs, and whatever other acronyms that came along had to be managed during the project, without ever being in the same room. Wember, our owner’s representation, helped us maintain the project schedule, budget, and communication throughout to ensure things got done…and done correctly. Onsite tours were replaced with a selfie video series of myself. I walked the site during construction and provided the audience a “behind-the-scenes” explanation of what was happening and what to expect next. In a changing world of communication where people are constantly bombarded with photos, social media updates, and virtual programming, we had to find a way to keep our community engaged, but in a way that fits into their everchanging way of life. We uploaded them to our projects
Congratulations to the Town of Erie on the completion of Clayton Park. Roche was honored to be the general contractor for this project.
www.rocheconstructors.com ▪ (866) 71-ROCHE
