Evanston council approves amendment with Tesco Associates to move Mason Park plan into construction documents

Evanston City Council voted to approve contract amendment No. 1 with Tesco Associates to advance the Mason Park expansion and the Church Dodge Transportation Improvement Project into Phase 2, which will prepare construction documents for bidding and construction.

The amendment moves the project from concept planning to the preparation of final construction documents. A city staff member said, "Phase 2 is the preparation of the construction documents," and added that the consultant had been chosen through a request-for-qualifications process and that the city negotiated the consultant's cost proposal: "We actually negotiate it."

The council conducted public engagement during the planning phase and incorporated feedback into a single preferred concept, staff said. A council member representing the second ward said the outreach met her expectations: "They have done exactly what I've asked them to do ... we had at least 4 or 5 open sessions where the community was engaged," and that the consultant had been receptive to requested changes.

Council members asked whether Parks and Recreation had reviewed the design and the scope for Phase 2. Staff said Parks and Recreation provided feedback on the concept plans and that the department’s comments were incorporated into the final concept; staff also said it is not typical for Parks and Recreation to formally approve contract amendments. Council discussion included questions about the RFQ-based selection and whether price was considered before negotiation; staff said the RFQ selection emphasized qualifications and that cost proposals were negotiated with the preferred consultant before awarding the contract.

Votes at a glance: The council approved the contract amendment No. 1 to the agreement with Tesco Associates for the Mason Park expansion and the Church Dodge Transportation Improvement Project (A7). The council also approved the minutes for the Jan. 13, 2025 meeting and approved the consent agenda minus item A7 earlier in the meeting. All items were approved by voice vote with no recorded opposition; the transcript records the votes as "aye" and "hearing no opposition," and exact roll-call vote counts were not specified in the meeting record.

Next steps: With the amendment approved, staff indicated the city will proceed to prepare construction documents so the project can be bid. The council closed the meeting after confirming there were no further items on the docket and noting that planning and development (PND) can proceed on schedule.