Director Stevens updated the Economic and Community Development Committee on the Mackie Park investigation and project status, reporting that staff moved forward with Change Order 5 for a wheelchair-accessible rounded sycamore table. Stevens said Busy Bee (the fabricator) notified staff on Sept. 19 that production and related work were estimated at six to eight weeks from that date; Stevens and the project engineer at Time Bond have sought schedule updates from Busy Bee.

Stevens said the overall project completion date included in earlier packets remains mid-November and that the change-order timeline is consistent with meeting that date, subject to the manufacturer’s delivery. He said Busy Bee indicated only one of the table seats could be omitted to preserve stability and that staff had authorized the order on Sept. 19 and followed up with two additional checks on Sept. 19 and Sept. 23.

Committee members discussed funding and oversight. President Tyrus referenced written answers he had received from Mayor Nicholson and noted that some funds for Mackie Park became available because the city auditor reclassified about $20,000 from downtown Phase 3 (ARPA-funded) to Mackie Park after final contractor quotes were received. Several committee members said the auditor had flagged funding issues earlier in the year and that the reclassification did not require an immediate council vote, but that improved department-update formatting and earlier cross-department communication could have surfaced the issue sooner.

Members expressed support for the department’s efforts and agreed to keep the Mackie Park item on the committee calendar until project completion. No formal vote on the change order occurred at the Oct. 3 committee meeting.