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Council approves amended MOU letting Park Board manage and bid selected bond-funded park projects
Summary
The council approved an amended memorandum of understanding Monday that gives the Park Board authority to manage and bid selected bond-funded park projects while preserving council approval for change orders that increase costs.
The Common Council approved an amended memorandum of understanding Monday that clarifies how certain 2024 bond-funded park projects will be managed and bid.
Councilor Snyder explained the amendment affects projects that were listed in the 2024 ordinance authorizing lease-rental bonds. The projects identified as park projects in the original ordinance include Autumn Greenway Trail, Memorial Greenway Trail, Bear Creek Park improvements and River Road Streetscape (an add-on the council inserted during Monday’s meeting). The amended MOU gives the Park Board authority to manage and bid those park projects while preserving council oversight of change orders that would increase project costs beyond the estimates used in the bond planning.
Sergey Grechuk, Office of Corporation Counsel, said the amended MOU simplifies responsibility for park projects by giving the Park Board authority to bid and manage park projects rather than having the Board of Public Works act as a middleman. He said the MOU still requires council approval for any change order that would increase a project’s estimated cost and affect the available budget for the remaining projects tied to the bond. “If projects will have any change orders that will exceed estimated project cost…and therefore will affect the budget for the remainder of the projects, those change orders will also require secondary approval by council,” Grechuk said.
Grechuk also noted that land acquisition activity remains with the city department that has been acquiring property and is not shifted to the Park Board. Council members emphasized the need to maintain cost controls and to permit flexibility where an approved project cost decreases; the revised MOU removes the requirement for council approval of change orders that reduce estimated costs.
The council voted to approve the amended MOU and an added item (River Road Streetscape) and then voted 9-0 to allow the council president to sign the document on the council’s behalf.
Councilors said the change is intended to accelerate procurement and design work for the listed park projects while preserving financial oversight. Staff will continue to coordinate design, permitting and public outreach through the Park Board and the engineering department.
