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CRA reviews Dow Hall renovation options, park equipment and bench procurement; tables final bench order
Summary
The CRA reviewed design options for Dow Hall renovations, received park equipment replacement estimates, and discussed direct purchase vs. formal procurement for downtown benches, deciding to pause and seek additional design guidance before final purchase.
CRA members spent an extended portion of the meeting reviewing facility and park improvements, including Dow Hall renovation concepts, playground-equipment replacement estimates, and bench procurement for downtown streetscaping.
Dow Hall renovation: Staff presented three preliminary designs developed by a prior town engineer and reported that two construction contractors and local staff had visited the site. Contractors flagged roof-height constraints that affect covered‑patio styles; Town staff asked the board for guidance on preferred aesthetic elements and column treatments to inform contractor bids. Board members and staff discussed attachment points, potential roof penetrations and hurricane wind load concerns.
Parks and playgrounds: Staff reviewed park-inspection findings and preliminary replacement estimates. For Bicentennial Park, staff identified replacement-play-equipment costs of approximately $8,552 (equipment only; shipping not included). For a set of three parks, staff provided a combined like‑for‑like replacement estimate of roughly $26,782 but recommended a workshop to determine a longer‑term plan rather than immediate like‑for‑like replacements. Staff also noted that Placer.ai visitation data (to be emailed to the board) may undercount park usage where roads run on both sides of a park.
Benches procurement: The board revisited earlier bench options for downtown, discussing cast‑aluminum and recycled‑plastic (composite) products. Staff estimated that procuring 30 benches through the standard RFP/contract route could cost about $42,000–$48,000 (roughly $1,400–$1,600 per bench with contractor markup), whereas direct government pricing and tax-exempt purchase could reduce total cost to about $33,000–$36,000. Staff proposed that direct purchase would save money, avoid added contractor overhead and leverage tax-exempt pricing; the board declined to finalize an order and opted to step back and reconsider design and sizing (4‑foot vs. 6‑foot benches) before procurement.
Other park items: The board approved ordering South Main flower pots and plantings and agreed to adjust paver width and add an accent border for South Main with possible future application to North Main. The CRA also asked staff to prioritize replacement or pressure‑washing of high‑use signage (e.g., boat‑ramp warning/rules signs) as an immediate repair item.
Board members requested a workshop to set a longer‑range parks plan rather than make piecemeal replacements and discussed the potential to create a project line for a Spruce Street park located behind the old bowling alley.
