Canton City Council approved a $7,600,000 construction contract with Diversified Construction of Georgia, plus a $500,000 owner's allowance, for the South Canton Park project and separately approved a $101,000 contract amendment for TSW to provide construction administration services.

The vote on the construction contract carried 4-2. Councilmember Yan, Councilmember Jolin, Councilmember Waterman and Councilmember McGrew voted yes; Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Roach voted no. The TSW administration amendment passed on the same 4-2 count.

The approval advances the city's plan to build the first park in South Canton, which the city says includes a dog park with separate areas for large and small dogs. City staff said funding will come from a mix of a $2,200,000 state grant, SPLOST, impact fees and water and sewer funds for portions tied to a water tank project. The council also set aside a 2% arts allocation for the project, which staff calculated as roughly $152,068; council said the arts money could be covered from the $500,000 owner's allowance if needed.

"Staff is recommending Diversified Construction of Georgia with a contract amount of 7,600,000.0 with a $500,000 owner's allowance," said Miss Trooper, a city staff member presenting the contract and bids.

Council debate focused on the range between the low and high bids, which staff said ran from $7.6 million up to about $12 million. Councilmember George said he was uncomfortable with the spread and worried change orders could push the final cost higher: "What happens if they come back and they need, you know, there's change orders and so on and so forth, and, you know, we get into a situation where we end up paying a lot more than that." Staff said they had checked references and built contract language intended to reduce avoidable change orders, including requirements that change orders be documented in writing and credits be requested for built-in rain days.

Staff also told the council the engineering estimate submitted in March was about $7.9 million, putting the low bid within the engineers' original range. City staff said the construction management team will review monthly pay applications and certify that work and costs are in order before payment is made.

Separately, the council approved a $101,000 amendment to TSW's contract to provide construction administration services and oversight for the South Canton Park project; staff said that team will monitor schedules, change orders and monthly pay applications.

The council directed staff to provide ongoing updates and to include park cost and schedule tracking in regular reports so the council and public can compare forecasts to actuals during construction.

The motion to approve the construction contract was made by Councilmember Warner and seconded (second not specified in the record). The TSW construction administration motion was recorded as passed by the same 4-2 tally.

Work is expected to proceed under the contract award and the city said it will report monthly on progress and costs.