LYNN HAVEN, Fla. (WMBB) — Issues at the James D. Finch Splash Park began well before city officials cut the ribbon on the facility in August 2018.
News 13 has obtained a number of documents related to both splash pads at Kinsaul Park and Cain Griffin Park.
When the city asked for bids, three companies responded. The cheapest was $540,000, well over the city’s $300,000 budget.
In a letter to then-City Manager Mike White, Chris Forehand of Panhandle Engineering said he approached Phoenix Construction about the project. Phoenix, who never bid on it, agreed to do the work for $400,000. White then took the deal to the city council, led by then-mayor Margo Anderson, who approved it.
“That was a little strange considering the cost of this project and that it was just given to a contractor,” said current Mayor Jesse Nelson.
Nelson and other city leaders have also been looking into the history of the project. Nelson, city and county leaders across our area say, when bids come in high, they typically request new bids on the project.
“So we do try to either scale back our scope and put it out for rebid or just put it out for rebid,” Nelson said. “We don’t usually, in the process that I’ve been working with our city manager and staff, we just don’t go in, just give it directly. That’s, that’s not our standard procedure here at Lynn Haven.”
Phoenix completed both splash pads. Anderson cut the ribbon on the Kinsaul facility on August 1st, 2018 calling it the James D. Finch Splash Park. Within three weeks there were problems.
City records and city officials say Phoenix repaired the initial issue, but charged the city $50,000 for the work. James Finch, the owner of Phoenix Construction, disputes this. He says the additional work was for more amenities and not repairs.
In March 2022, city workers discovered leaks and pipe problems. They attempted to make repairs themselves, but the problems resurfaced last August.
City officials say it will cost $100,000 to resolve the issues and there is no existing warranty or contract that would require Phoenix to do this work.
“As far as we know, it’s our responsibility to get it fixed. And so we’re going to have a lot of our in-house guys do that,” Nelson said. “Our building department or building maintenance department is going to help us with that to try to keep the costs low.”
Finch said Tuesday that he first learned about issues at the splash pad when he was called by a reporter. He added that he was willing to work with the city to fix any issue if, indeed, it was related to the construction of the facility.
The ongoing problems, coupled with the need for seasonal employees, have Nelson and others thinking about turning the Kinsaul splash pad into a skate park or some other kind of park.
“So I can’t say that I’ve received positive and, you know, negative feedback about it,” Nelson said. “Those who want us to continue to keep the splash pad at Kinsaul open, some who say, ‘Can we do the splash pad and a skate park at Kinsaul?’ And some said, ‘Hey, can we just do the skate park at Kinsaul?’ So I’ve received varying responses from the community.”
Ultimately, the park’s future will be up to commissioners. As for Finch, he said Tuesday that he did not care whether the park was torn down or not. He added that he never wanted the park to be named after him in the first place.
“I don’t use it,” he said.
Many of the people who were running Lynn Haven when the splash pad was constructed were caught up in a federal corruption investigation.
Engineer Chris Forehand got immunity from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Mike White plead guilty and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Anderson plead guilty to lying to the FBI and is awaiting her sentencing.
Finch is preparing for his second trial on bribery charges after the first ended in a mistrial.
You can read the documents received in a city records request below: