Heath Takes Legal Action Over Collapsing Seawall

Seawall between Lake Ray Hubbard, Terry Park caving in after only three years

The city of Heath is taking legal action over a seawall that is failing only three years after it was installed.

Part of the seawall between Lake Ray Hubbard and Terry Park has started collapsing. It was installed in 2009 as part of the park's upgrades.

"Based upon certain facts and evidence that have been brought to light, the Heath City Council believes that third parties involved in the design and construction of the seawall at Terry Park have negligently contributed to its premature failure," Mayor John Ratcliffe said in a statement. "For that reason, the city of Heath has engaged outside counsel to pursue legal remedies and damages against any and all responsible parties."

Garland resident Felix Cano, who comes to the park to relax nearly every weekend, said he fears for his granddaughter's safety.

"A little child like my granddaughter could fall down and get hurt or even get killed there," he said.

Heath resident Elizabeth Handschuch, who lives on the lake, said she noticed it deteriorate over time. She said she's lucky her dogs can swim.

"Well, I'm concerned because, you know, it obviously cost a lot of money to build," she said. "It's going to cost a lot of money to fix. It's a hazard to the people that use the park."

The city proposed an engineering study to figure out why the wall is failing and how to fix, but the study alone comes at a price tag of $70,500.

"That's $70,000 they could devote to the materials to actually fix the wall," Handschuch said.

"I want them to fix it," Cano said. "They need to fix it."

City officials could not give NBC 5 any more details about the seawall because of the ongoing litigation.

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