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Council endorses Unlimited Play design-and-equipment approach for Village Green inclusive playground
Summary
The Wildwood City Council voted to authorize staff to negotiate an agreement with Unlimited Play to produce engineered bid documents and secure equipment pricing for Phase 2 of Village Green, after staff said a $575,000 St. Louis County grant requires work to start before June 2026.
The Wildwood City Council on April 14 endorsed a recommendation from the Planning and Parks Committee to engage Unlimited Play, a national nonprofit playground designer, to carry forward design-engineering and equipment procurement steps for Phase 2 of the Village Green inclusive playground project.
The department described Unlimited Play as “somewhat of a one-stop shop” that partners with Little Tikes Commercial and subconsultants to produce plans, bid specifications and to supply equipment. Director Vonage told council the company has agreed to hold equipment pricing for roughly 18 months, offering what staff called a “substantial cost savings” given current inflationary pressures.
The city plans to use Unlimited Play to assemble engineering plans and purchase specifications that will be used to solicit construction bids; final construction would be bid publicly. Assistant Director Rippetoe has applied for and secured a $575,000 grant from the St. Louis County Municipal Park Grant Commission for Phase 2. The grant must be expended by June 2026, a deadline staff cited as the reason to begin contract negotiations now.
Council member Farmer made the motion to proceed with the department’s recommendation; the motion received a second and passed on voice vote. Director Vonage said the city attorney will draft the agreement with Unlimited Play and the department will return with the contract terms and bid-ready documents before construction contracting begins.
The committee and staff emphasized that engaging Unlimited Play at this stage is to capture current equipment pricing and complete the design/engineering package; construction remains subject to public bidding and separate contracting. No dollar amount for the proposed design/consultant contract was provided at the meeting.
The city will bring the proposed consultant agreement back to council for final approval once the city attorney completes the draft contract. Staff said they expect bid-ready documents well in advance of the grant expiry so that construction procurement can follow.
