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Council awards park improvement base bid, drops several LC Stevens alternates after months of debate
Summary
The City Council awarded the park improvement base contract to the apparent low bidder for a package including two neighborhood parks while removing a set of LC Stevens alternates from this year's award; the vote was 4–1 after extended discussion about master planning and cost control.
After a multihour debate that included park‑board recommendations and public comment, the Dayton City Council voted to award the park improvement contract for the submitted base work plus two alternates (PSA A and PSA B) and to defer several LC Stevens alternates until the city completes a replan of Stevens Park.
City consultant Paul Kangas (IOA Inc.) reviewed six responsive bids and noted volatile market conditions for construction. Bids were lower than some recent comparable projects but still above earlier-year estimates. The bid package included a base bid (improvements at PSA 21 and Ione Gardens and other base scope) and several alternates, among them larger improvements at L.C. Stevens Park that council had earlier signaled it might reconsider while redoing the Stevens master plan.
Park commissioners recommended proceeding with the full package, but several councilmembers and residents urged caution. Council members asked whether planting and site furniture could be done by local vendors or deferred to avoid locking in items that might conflict with a new master plan for L.C. Stevens. One councilmember described the Stevens plan as under review and argued it would be “shortsighted” to commit to major Stevens alternates now.
After questions about contract quantity adjustment clauses and whether the city could remove alternates or make line‑item changes postaward, the council voted 4–1 to award the contract with the base scope and PSA A and PSA B alternates. That award changed the apparent low bidder: with those alternates included, Custom Builders was the apparent low bidder and received the award; without them the base bid lowest was Beta Contracting. The construction award amount recorded in the council discussion was roughly $1,026,918.18 as the awarded package total; council authorized staff to proceed with final contract steps.
Council and staff said tree plantings and some furnishing/landscape items would be handled as alternates or considered later to allow flexibility during master‑plan updates. Public commenters urged the council to prefer lower‑cost local options for picnic tables, benches and concrete work, and warned that anchored infrastructure at Stevens might constrain a future event center design.
Next steps: staff will finalize the contract with the awarded bidder and proceed to construction administration. The Parks Commission and staff will continue the Stevens Park replan; council asked that major Stevens improvements not be locked in until the replan is complete.
