Decorah council, staff and fundraisers restart athletic-complex bid with smaller base, alternates

Decorah City Council members on Thursday directed city staff and the park board to rebid the proposed athletic complex with a smaller base package and a menu of alternates, a move intended to make the project awardable while giving local fundraisers concrete targets for additional amenities.

Council and staff said the change is intended to balance fiscal responsibility with community priorities after the city rejected the original lump-sum bid as too high. The base package under discussion would replace facilities the community is losing and be small enough to award without delaying construction; alternates would let the city add items such as extra pickleball courts, additional ball diamonds, drain tile and paved parking if funds or private donations become available.

City Manager Travis (City Manager) told the council the original bid used a lump-sum format that made it hard to separate costly elements. He said staff has directed the consulting engineer to convert the package to unit pricing and to list likely add-ons as alternates so the city can identify exactly…