The floor tiles at the Community Recreation Building in Riverside Park are being removed as part of the process of repairing the floor in the aftermath of last weekend’s flooding.
City officials are removing the tiles with forklifts to be cleaned and then left to dry in the adjacent parking lot.
On Sunday morning, the massive floor was “floating” in several inches of water.
That’s by design, said Corey Schinstock, assistant city manager. After two floods in early 2019, the rec center was shuttered for more than a year due to its damaged floor. The answer was to install “flood-proof” flooring throughout offices and what had served as a gymnasium.
“Now all we have to replace is the rubber mat,” that is placed under the tiles for padding, Schinstock said Sunday morning.
The 2019 project included approving about $53,000 for the tile floor from Sport Court Kansas City, Inc., as well as an epoxy surface with an additional “moisture mitigation” process to seal off cracks and joints in the existing concrete for a combined $102,355.
Monday and Tuesday’s sunny weather is a bonus to the drying-out process. Inside the building large fans continue to circulate air while dehumidifiers hum.
On Sunday, Schinstock said staff from the street, parks and electric departments were at the park to address the flooding.
The first priority was to remove four-by-eight-foot carpet squares that had been placed over the gym’s floor in preparation for a wedding reception there Saturday night.
“We got almost all of them up before they got wet,” Schinstock said. That was at about 9 a.m., he said.
“It’s been about 10 years since we’ve had this amount of water in the rec building,” Schinstock said. “We always get a little water coming in the doors at both entrances after a significant rain because the building is set so low.” 
