The Tipton Board of Works voted to approve the evaluation committee’s recommendation to select BW (referred to in the procurement) as the preferred proposer for the Tipton Baseball Fields public‑private partnership project and separately approved a schematic architecture contract with Engineering Resources, Inc. (ERI).

Karen Russ of Envoy, speaking for the evaluation committee, told the board the city issued a request for proposals and qualifications on June 25, 2025, with proposals due July 10, and that the committee received four submissions. She said the committee — which included Mayor Schmicker, Councilman Cream, Diana Tomlinson, Bridal Campbell and Corey Mahan — “unanimously selected BW as the preferred offer” based on experience with Build‑Operate‑Transfer (B.O.T.) work, a developer‑led approach, a complete responsive proposal, and “strong financial and operational capacity.”

Board members then approved a separate motion to place ERI under contract to produce schematic drawings and related documents now, with the understanding those schematic documents would transfer to the developer selected for the project at the appropriate contract stage. A board member explained the ERI contract “gives us a little bit of a head start” because the city will pay for the work whether ERI or the eventual developer completes later phases.

During discussion, a developer representative, Greg Lynn, said timelines in proposers’ submissions aimed to have fields available by spring next year, with one proposer listing April and others aiming for June. He noted permitting steps could affect start dates: “DNR is a big question mark right now,” and that DNR review, if required, might take “as long as 90 days.” Lynn also said the proposers had performed a site visit and described the project as urgent but not unusually complex: “It is aggressive, but we feel confident we can get it done.” Board members and presenters also said the project remains within the budget previously set aside by the city.

No public commenters spoke during the public hearing. The board opened and closed the public hearing by motion and then voted on the procurement recommendation and the ERI contract; both motions passed.

The board did not adopt a final services agreement at the meeting; Karen Russ said the committee’s full memo and score sheets were provided to the board for reference and that the city would proceed to “execute the services agreement with BW once available.”

The actions taken move the procurement to contract stage for design documents and identify BW as the preferred proposer; additional contract execution and any required permits remain unresolved next steps.