Council approves $358,000 contingency increase for Lions Park improvements; accepts YMCA design grant for Lions Park community building

Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to increase the contingency for the Lions Park improvement project by $358,000, bringing the not-to-exceed construction cap to $6,358,000, and separately approved an MOU that will allow the city to accept YMCA-held design grant funds for architectural work on the planned Lions Park community building.

City staff told the council the additional contingency is needed after design and site conditions produced higher costs, including removing vegetation on an island and replants, modifications to building plans, replacing asphalt pathways with wider concrete pathways, and additional excavation behind a pond retaining wall to address groundwater from an underground spring. Staff estimated total construction costs at about $6,200,000 and said roughly $138,000 remained unaccounted for in the…