Board approves $57,283 sole‑source contract to refresh Rockland Park concept plan as grant clock begins

The Warren County Board of Supervisors approved a $57,283 sole‑source award to Kimberly Horn & Associates, Inc., to refresh and update a concept plan for Rockland Park, a multi‑phase parks project the county first identified in its 2009 comprehensive plan.

County staff said the work is not a construction contract but an update to a 2015 concept plan prepared by LPDA; staff described the award as necessary so the county can prepare accurate construction documents and meet the terms of a grant that began Oct. 1, 2024. The grant is structured as reimbursement and—staff said—must be completed by Sept. 30, 2027, to be eligible for reimbursement of eligible costs.

Parks and planning staff told supervisors that the county has been surveying other localities for revenue and operations data from similar sports complexes (including Fairfax County and Page County). Staff said revenue from field rentals would likely cover field operation costs, while economic benefits to local businesses (hotels, restaurants) would be a secondary source of community benefit. The county cautioned that full economic projections require a separate, comprehensive study and that a refreshed concept plan cannot “wholesale” replace the project elements already submitted to the National Park Service as the basis for the grant.

Board members asked several budgeting and operations questions: supervisors were told preliminary work would include conceptual design and that construction is likely to be phased over multiple years. Staff said on‑going operations and maintenance will require additional maintenance staff (at least one full‑time equivalent), and that revenues from rentals and concessions currently flow to the general fund and offset department budgets but do not fully cover operating costs.

A motion to approve the sole‑source award and authorize the county administrator to execute documents approved by the county attorney carried on a unanimous roll call vote. The contract award will be reimbursed through the grant on a reimbursement basis, and staff said the conceptual design contract (budgeted at about $64,000) is intended to provide the information necessary to plan phasing and funding for fiscal years through the 2026–2027 grant period.

The county will continue collecting comparative studies from other jurisdictions and pursue potential matching funds, including a possible allocation from the county’s tourism fund. Staff emphasized that the $4 million listed in an upcoming projects summary represents an estimated total project need and not an immediate cash outlay for fiscal 2025; supervisors were told only an estimated $64,000 is expected to be spent in the current fiscal year for conceptual design work.