Council authorizes pool management PO, renews liability coverage and awards safety-improvement contract

Urbana City Council approved three board-of-control recommendations Tuesday: a one-year purchase order to the Champaign Family YMCA to operate Wendell Stokes Municipal Pool, renewal of the city’s property and casualty insurance through Public Entities Pool (PEP), and a contract award for pavement/safety improvements on an ODOT project.

Pool management: The council authorized a purchase order of $97,551 to the Champaign Family YMCA for pool management services for the 2025 season. Board members and staff noted this would be the ninth year the YMCA has managed the facility; staff reported previous years’ actual costs were often below the authorized PO because operations vary with weather and usage. The expense will be charged to the general fund pool account and was included in the 2025 budget; the board of control recommended the PO by a 3–0 vote and the council approved the item in roll call.

Insurance renewal: The council authorized payment of $2,291,933 to Public Entities Pool for the city’s property and casualty insurance for one year, a 26% increase over the 2024 premium. Staff said the increase primarily reflects a third-party appraisal conducted in fall 2024 that raised the replacement values of city buildings from about $82.6 million to $102.5 million, producing a premium increase roughly proportional to the new insured values. The cost will be charged to departmental insurance accounts; board of control recommended approval and the council approved the payment in roll call.

Construction contract: The council authorized a contract to Park Enterprise Construction Company, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $808,523 (including a 10% contingency) for the CHPR vehicle safety improvements project (ODOT PID 115978). Park Enterprise was the only bidder; the base bid was reported in the packet and staff confirmed references as favorable. The city share of the project will be charged to the capital improvement fund and is in the 2025 budget. Board of control recommended the award and the council approved the contract in roll call.

All three board-of-control items were approved by council vote during the meeting. Staff flagged budget and timing details: the pool PO historically comes in under the authorized amount; the insurance increase resulted from updated appraisals rather than a higher per-dollar rate; and the construction award includes a contingency to cover price and scope variability.