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Carmel BPW approves MOU transferring bidding authority for four parks projects funded by redevelopment bonds
Summary
The Board of Public Works and Safety approved a memorandum of understanding that shifts public-bidding and procurement authority for four park projects funded by redevelopment authority lease rental bonds to the Park Board, after clarifying overlapping responsibilities with BPW.
The City of Carmel Board of Public Works and Safety on June 18, 2025, approved a memorandum of understanding that gives the Park Board authority to perform public bidding and hire design and engineering professionals for four parks projects funded by redevelopment authority lease rental bonds.
The change follows ordinance D-2729-24, which authorized the redevelopment authority lease rental bonds. City Corporation Counsel Sergey Grishuk told the board the MOU is intended to eliminate duplicative approvals and make project administration more efficient.
"This memorandum of understanding basically corrects that. It gives authority to perform public bidding and hiring of engineering design and other professionals to the Park Board," Sergey Grishuk, Office of Corporation Counsel, said. He said the bond authorization from 2024 will fund multiple infrastructure projects and that four specific park-related projects are included among the priorities.
Grishuk identified the park projects tied to the bond program as Autumn and Memorial Greenways, Bear Creek Park improvements and Ironwood Park improvements, and said some funding may be prioritized in two levels depending on availability. He said the Park Board historically has managed parks projects but that state code and prior interlocal agreements left bidding administration with BPW, producing duplication.
The memorandum lists four parties as signatories: the Board of Public Works and Safety (as the city's purchasing agency), the mayor, the city council (as the financing body), and the Park Board. Grishuk said the mayor and council have already signed and that the Park Board authorized Michael Klitzing, director of Parks and Recreation, to sign on its behalf; BPW's signature was the remaining signature.
Board members moved to add the item as an add-on and then to approve the memorandum; the board also authorized the BPW president to sign on the board's behalf. All motions carried.
The MOU shifts procurement and bidding responsibilities for the named park projects from BPW to the Park Board; final project awards and bond financing remain subject to council and bond procedures described in ordinance D-2729-24. The memorandum does not change the bond authorization itself or project funding amounts.
