Parkville mum about CA search; Brink Meyer wall still troublesome

Also: Municipal judge appointment expected this week

While Parkville officials are keeping tight-lipped about their search for a new city administrator, they have made more strides on another ongoing situation — the reconstruction of the Brink Meyer Road retaining wall.

The installation and testing of additional anchors in the retaining wall reconstruction was approved at the regular meeting Tuesday evening at a cost of $6,000. This is in addition to anchors installed last month at a cost of $7,500. The six test anchors were recently installed in the shale rock behind the retaining wall. These anchors were pulled out until they failed, and the results were not good. The anchors only held about a quarter of the strength expected, according to interim City Administrator Sean Ackerson.

Last year, the City contracted with RTE Technologies to design repairs to the retaining wall, which failed several years ago, resulting in years of litigation only recently settled. RTE engineer Mark Campbell suggested the City install eight additional anchors of a larger diameter and longer depth. The installation methods for the anchors will also be varied to test which applications hold the rock with the most stability.