jmarkspnj
Registered: October 2010
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Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Writeup
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
For my Eagle Scout project I oversaw the construction of an information kiosk in Johnson Park, NJ which will contain posters providing information about upcoming events and information about the park. This includes park maps and park rules. This project was multi-step project as the kiosk had to be pre-fabricated at a different location other than at the park and then brought over to the park be put in the ground. It was brought over in two parts or as a single piece. I supervised all aspects of the construction and the planting of the kiosk in the ground. The project was completed by Troop 55 of Highland Park, NJ.
Johnson Park which directly serves the public of Middlesex County (both Piscataway and Highland Park), as well as other members of the public who come to visit. Benefited from the project
Name of religious institution, school, or community: Johnson Park
Street address: River Road, Piscataway
Town: Piscataway
State: NJ
Zip code: 08854
My project was of benefit to the group because:
Johnson Park is currently in need of an information kiosk to contain maps and important information on upcoming park events as well as park rules. This project would benefit both the park and the general public of both Piscataway and Highland park. The information in the kiosk will be available for all the people who visit the park. This would include information that they might not have known without the kiosk being there.
The project concept was discussed with the following representative of the group that will benefit from the project.
Representative's name: Richard Lear
Representative’s Title: Naturalist with Johnson Park and Middlesex County
PROJECT DETAILS
Description:
The kiosk w built according to specifications supplied to me by the park engineers (see attached). These specifications and plans have already been drawn out by the park engineers. The project will involve the actual assembly of the kiosk in my garage. It will then be transported to the site in a truck or a van and put in the ground by Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. An adult volunteer will transport the kiosk to the park. I do not know who it will be transported by right now but I will make sure before I start that there is someone available to do so.
The kiosk will have 2 legs. They will be inserted and mounted into holes previously dug in the ground according to schedule indicated below. The hole will be filled in with gravel.
Safety:
For safety during the project, I will provide a first aid kit Although not all tasks are possible or safe for younger Scouts to perform, I will be sure to find jobs with which they can help, such as sanding and hammering. Goggles, masks, hard hats and gloves will be worn for safety as needed. Any power tools that may be used during the course of the project will only be operated by persons over the age of 18. In the beginning of each work session I will go over rules and procedures to be used during building, as well as general safety rules. There are adult volunteers from Scouting who have made a commitment to me to provide guidance and safety oversight to the other volunteers throughout the project. Several EMT's from Troop 55 will be on hand for safety purposes.
Volunteers and Supervision:
I will be asking for volunteers from the troop (adult and youth) to participate in completing my project. I am not an expert in the different steps of my project, but I have some background and have completed some research on this subject. I will be arranging to have several adults who have expertise in the different areas of work come to help and advise me so that I can be prepared to supervise the project. I will be coordinating timing of tasks as well as teaching basic skills such as sanding and hammering. I will be participating in the project work, and encouraging and giving guidance to my volunteers. I will also pay particularly close attention to the youth workers in making sure that they do not get too fatigued or dehydrated. Water will be available throughout the project. Before the event I will talk to all volunteers about how to do this.
Specifications
Middlesex County Department of Parks and Recreation
Kiosk Information
Specs:
-Viewing Area: 42”H x 64 L maximum
-Cork: ½” thick
-Access: Can gain access from back. Access needs to be locked with some sort of lock preferably a pad lock.
-Side posts: 4x4– approx. 24”-30” in ground, filled in with small stones (no concrete)
-Front Cover: Should be plexiglass, .100 or thicker
-Roof – should provide cover for kiosk materials – Can be regular shingles
Sample kiosk in Roosevelt Park down by Skating Rink
CARRYING OUT THE PROJECT
Project Preparation
To prepare for my project I made many phone calls and wrote many emails as well as visited stores for price checking’s and donations. Also at a meeting before October 18th I handed out permission slips containing my address, phone number and time of project.
October 18, 2009: To prepare for the first day of my eagle project, I laid out all the tools I felt I would require for that day. I also made phone calls to arrange rides and also food to be delivered to my house.
November 1, 2009: Made sure all the batteries for the power tools were charged, and if they weren’t I charged them. I arranged for food to be available and rides for those without a way of getting to my project.
November 15, 2009: Called Larry Kaplan to make sure he was bringing his boat trailer and also to find out if he would require anything else to get the kiosk onto the boat trailer. I also arranged for food and made phone calls to make sure I had volunteers going.
November 29, 2009: Made phone calls, and had my parents pick up food from a local kosher pizzeria. I then had all the tools I assumed that we would need put together so It would be easier to load up the cars with supplies. I also made some additional phone calls to see if would need any more volunteers. I also called Mr. Lear, to make sure the stones would be there.
Project completion November 29, 2009
Hours I Spent Working on the Project
The length of time spent should be as adequate as is necessary for you to demonstrate your leadership of two or more individuals in planning and carrying out your project.
Hours I spent …
Planning the project: 25 hours and 21 min.
Carrying out the project: 25 hours and 15 min.
Hours I spent …
Planning the project: 20.75 Hours
Carrying out the project: 19 hours
Final Write-up: 7 hours
Total hours I spent working on the project: 46.75 hours
Total number of hours others worked on the project: 101 hr.
Total Hours by Scouts- 49.5 hours
Total Hours by Youth Non Scouts- 13.2 hours
Total Hours by Adult Scouts- 21.7 hours
Total Hours by Adult Non Scouts- 16.6
For a grand total: 147 hours and 45 minutes
Leadership
1. I was assigned by the project sponsor, November 29th as a “drop dead” date to install the kiosk at Johnson Park. The park would be used by other parties such as Rutgers University on future Sundays. Also, the pending inclement winter weather would make installing the kiosk at the park more difficult. I had to pay attention to this situation for the entire timeline of the project.
2. I had to ensure that the work on the project was completed before nightfall since it would be dangerous to work on the kiosk at night.
October 18th
3. A piece of donated wood was warped. As a result, I sent a volunteer to purchase a replacement piece of wood from Home Depot.
4. I had to decide how to use the volunteers with more experience than the others in using the specific power tools, reading the design diagrams, or even latching the kiosk to the trailer.
5. Too many of the younger level scouts wanted to help me on the October 18t. But they were not needed to start the project. I learned to have them attend November 18th and November 29th meetings. At these meetings, they were needed to help paint the kiosk or help put shingles on the kiosk roof.
6. The templates for making the kiosk which were supplied by the project sponsor did not match the plan. I had to make judgment calls on each cut.
7. There were several materials not included in the list given to me by the sponsor which were required materials to build the kiosk. I had to locate a second source for these required materials. I had to send a volunteer to the lumber store to purchase the missing required materials.
8. I did not plan for how long all the wood took to cut. As a result,
9. I needed ratchets not wrenches to put in the lug bolts. I did not initially plan for this. As a leader I learned and listened based on the construction experience and advice of the volunteers to identify the specific tools, i.e., ratchets to use to build the kiosk.
November 1st
10. Some people showed up different times. As a result, my project took longer then expected as I did not have the right amount of people till later on in the day.
11. I was not able to get the bottom window frame done at my home because I was lacking the materials to cut the plywood exactly to the windows dimensions. As a result, this step took more unexpected time to build the kiosk at the park.
12. My volunteers did not have enough time to complete installing the shingles on the kiosk roof at my home. I had to modify the project plan and have this done as one of the first tasks at the park.
13. I assigned one of the scouts to take pictures at each of the dates (October 18th, November 1st, November 15th and November 29th). However, due to health and personal issues, I had to assign various other people to step in as his replacement.
14. I had to organize the many pictures that were taken by various people of my project into a central presentation.
15. I had expected to stain the wood before the kiosk was installed at the park. However, I did not plan for the extensive time that this take would take. Instead, I worked with the volunteers to stain the wood at the park.
November 15th
16. I didn’t make enough pre-planned phone calls to arrange for volunteers to assist me to build the kiosk. As a result, at the assigned time for the volunteers to attend, we were short 4 volunteers. I had to work with other volunteers to make more phone calls to arrange for additional emergency volunteers to help.
17. While the kiosk was being driven over to the park, we found that one of the wheels had been rubbed up against by a strap making a hole in the tire. My volunteers and I had to wait in a cul de sac for nearly an hour and a half. I had sent out 2 volunteers to the nearby Walmart and Sears to purchase a replacement tire.
18. I reached out to Bob Burns, Fire Commissioner, River Road Fire Department, Piscataway for a trailer to transfer the kiosk to Johnson Park. However, the kiosk was too big for the trailer and could not be moved till another day.
November 29th
19. One of the volunteers was wearing flip flops. I needed his help so I allowed him to paint the kiosk without putting on a sturdier pair of shoes.
20. Because there were no available electrical outlets at the park to use our electrical tools, I had assigned a volunteer to charge the tools each of the assigned Sunday.
21. I didn’t have enough ladders when it came time to paint the kiosk. I had to arrange immediately for a volunteer to drive to his home to retrieve another ladder.
22. Since the plywood did not fit into the window frame of the kiosk,, I had to arrange for the plywood to be trimmed.
Materials That Were Required to Complete the Project and Their Prices
(2) 6”x 6” x 12’Treated Wood = $25.75 each
(1) 6”x 6” x 8’ Treated Wood = $20.25 each
(15) 2” x 6” x 8’ Treated Wood = $2.97 each
(3) 4’ x 8’sheets of 5/8” Exterior Plywood = $13.99 each
(8) 10” long, ½” Lag Bolts = $15.49 each
(2) Boxes (500/box); 3” Teflon Screws = $25.64 each
(1) Box (500/box); 2” Teflon Screws = $20.99 each
(2) 5/4 x 8’x1 ¾ inch trim = $35.24 each
(2) 3 ½” Door Hinges = $1.49 each
(4) 3” L Brackets = $3.73 each
(1) Door Handle = $20.42
Shingles – Brand: Timberline; Color: Hickory 5 bundles =
1 bundle Cap/Ridge = $16.15 each
1 roll Felt Paper = $24.83
Roofing Nails = $19.99
1 sheet of Precut Plexi-Glass - .100 = Will be donated by park.
1/2 Inch Cork = $10.68
Exterior Construction Adhesive = $5.09
One Hasp = $5.24 each
Small Stones to fill the post holes in order to keep the kiosk in place. = Will be donated by park.
Combination Lock = $12.00 each
Screw Drivers = $5.99 each
Hammers = $6.99 each
Power Saws = $65.62
Post Hole Digger = $51.99
Hand Saws = $26.99
Electric Drills = $22.67
Shovels = $12.59 each
An adult leader with a van to transport the kiosk to the park.
I went to Home Depot and Lowes and recorded all the prices of the materials that would be needed and then chose the better price.
Home Depot: $427.33
Description Donated by
(2) 6”x 6” x 12’Treated Wood Home Depot
(1) 6”x 6” x 8’ Treated Wood Stelton Lumber
(15) 2” x 6” x 8’ Treated Wood Home Depot
(3) 4’ x 8’sheets of 5/8” Exterior Plywood Arzee Building Products
(8) 10” long, ½” Lag Bolts Home Depot
(2) Boxes (500/box); 3” Teflon Screws Home Depot
(1) Box (500/box); 2” Teflon Screws Home Depot
(2) 5/4 x 8’ trim Home Depot
(2) 3 ½” Door Hinges Home Depot
(4) 3” L Brackets Home Depot
(1) Door Handle Home Depot
Shingles – Brand: Timberline; Color: Hickory 5 bundles Arzee Building Products
1 bundle Cap/Ridge Arzee Building Products
1 roll Felt Paper Arzee Building Products
Roofing Nails Arzee Building Products
1 sheet of Precut Plexi-Glass - .100 = Will be donated by park. Johnson Park
1/2 Inch Cork Johnson Park
Exterior Construction Adhesive Home Depot
One Hasp Home Depot
Small Stones to fill the post holes in order to keep the kiosk in place. = Will be donated by park. Johnson Park
Combination Lock Home Depot
Screw Drivers Home Depot
Hammers Home Depot
Power Saws Larry Kaplan
Hand Saws On Hand
Electric Drills Larry Kaplan
Shovels On Hand
Stain Johnson Park
Food Rebecca Steckel and Larry Marks
Changes
List any changes made to the original project plan and explain why those changes were made.
• Some of the volunteers arrived thirty minutes late for several of our appointments resulting in changes of the previously arranged groups.
• I was informed two weeks before my eagle project began on October 18th that the Park was going to dig the post holes. In return for the park digging the holes they wanted me and my volunteers to stain the kiosk once it was in the ground.
• On October 18th the cutting of the wood took much longer then I expected and the templates given to me by the park did not fit the plan. This meant that the plan had to be redrawn. Also instead of finishing the roof on the 18th, we finished the legs of the kiosk. I had estimated that this step of the building would take three hours; however my estimate was off as it took six hours to finish this step.
• On November 1st instead of assembling the legs and window frame, the roof was put together. Also my estimate for the amount of hours this step would take was off by three hours, as it took six instead of three hours. I also had the problem that I had to many volunteers and my estimate of 8 was off.
• My volunteers and I finished shingling the roof of the kiosk on November 15th. Despite what I had put into my proposal the roof and the legs were not put together on the 15th due to transportation problems. They were both instead put on a boat trailer which was to be used to move the kiosk. However not soon after we left my house with the kiosk one of the tires broke and we were forced to wait for a replacement tire. However no replacement tire could be found until many hours later and by that time it was to late. So the kiosk was brought back to my house and left in the driveway. Also the plexiglass, the cork, and the plywood had not been cut to fit the door yet and therefore had to be cut somewhere else.
• On November 29th, the kiosk was brought from my house to the park. We did not have to dig the holes as I had said in my earlier proposal as the park had dug them for us. We put together the legs and the roof at the park and then put the kiosk in the ground. After it was in the ground it was stained. I had to few volunteers for putting the kiosk in the ground as I had not expected how much it would weight.
Problems I encountered during the project
I was assigned by the project sponsor, November 29th as a “drop dead” date to install the kiosk at Johnson Park. The park would be used by other parties such as Rutgers University on future Sundays. Also, the pending inclement winter weather would make installing the kiosk at the park more difficult.
October 18th
1. A piece of wood donated was warped. So I sent a volunteer to purchase a replacement piece of wood from Home Depot.
2. Too many of the younger level scouts I was not able to use.
3. The templates for making the kiosk which were supplied by the project sponsor did not match the plan. I had to make judgment calls on each cut.
4. Some materials not included in the list, I needed.
5. I did not plan for how long all the wood took to cut and therefore had scouts with nothing to do.
6. I needed ratchets not wrenches to put in the lug bolts.
November 1st
7. Some people showed up different times and therefore it took me longer then I planned to finish this step.
8. Was not able to get the bottom window frame down and therefore had to get it done at the park.
9. The shingling was not complete as we ran out of time and it was already dark out.
10. Didn’t have someone appointed to take pictures various people did so instead.
11. Did not stain the wood as I had expected to do instead I did it at the park on the 29th.
November 15th
12. Didn’t have enough people available so had to make more phone calls.
13. We found out that one of the tires was flat.
14. While the kiosk was being driven to the park we found that one of the wheels had been rubbed up against by a strap creating a hole in the tire.
15. My volunteers and I waited in a cul de sac for nearly an hour and a half while we looked for a wheel.
16. I reached out to bob burns for a trailer to transfer kiosk to park however the kiosk was too big for the trailer and was too dangerous to move.
November 29th
17. One of the volunteers was wearing flip flops when he was asked to help move the kiosk onto the trailer.
18. A rope attaching the kiosk to a van broke.
19. No outlets were available to plug in power tools.
20. Didn’t have enough ladders to use to stain the kiosk.
21. Had to wait for paint to dry before doing anything.
22. The batteries for the power tools ran out of power.
23. The plywood did not fit into the window frame of the kiosk, and therefore had to be trimmed to fit.
Safety Issues
1. The kiosk was too dangerous to move onto Bob Burns’s trailer due to the way it was positioned on Larry Kaplan’s trailer.
2. One of the volunteers showed up wearing flip flops and wanted to help paint the kiosk in the park. This represented a potential safety issue.
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