OTTAWA HILLS, Ohio (WTVG) – There’s a lawsuit in the works that was filed by the Village of Ottawa Hills which revolves around the soccer and lacrosse complex built on Dorr Street.
As spring sports get underway, the Ottawa Hills sports complex remains empty. The fields have yet to see a game and that’s mainly because of what’s underneath.
“There was some foreign material found in the soil including glass,” said Village Administrator John Wenzlick.
Construction finished in 2021 and the village filed a lawsuit in 2023 against Lewandowski Engineers because of the the foreign materials found in the soil. Ottawa Hills was gifted the space by the Dave White family with the promise the space would be dedicated to sports and in 2019, Lewandowski Engineers were hired to design the complex.
According to the complaint filed, Ottawa Hills claims Lewandowski Engineers didn’t properly evaluate the soil before starting construction. Wenzlick tells 13 Action News that administrators with the village were the ones who identified the the glass in the soil, not Lewandowski Engineers.
The village accuses the lead engineer of negligence for being on site during the entirety of the project, yet not making anyone aware of the presence of glass in the soil. Wenzlick says this glass is left over from the greenhouses that sat on the property dating back to the 1900′s.
“Since that time, we’ve been looking at options to remediate the soil,” said Wenzlick. “We want to make sure it’s a safe playing surface for the kids that would be out there.”
Wenzlick says the price tag to fix this issue is hefty, on top of the already $2 million spent to build the complex, level the ground and add proper drainage.
“Construction estimates are about $1.5 million to remediate the soil,” said Wenzlick. “That’s not including engineering and inspection and things like that.”
13 Action News reached out to Lewandowski Engineering but have not heard back.
You can view the lawsuit below.
Ottawa Hills Sports Complex Lawsuit by Jake Pietrasz on Scribd
Latest Local News | First Alert Weather | Crime | National | 13abc Originals
Copyright 2024 WTVG. All rights reserved.
