Orderville park committee seeks engineered dirt plans; concession bid opening set

Park committee members told the board they have bids and estimates that are substantially lower than earlier high-end cost opinions, but councilors stressed engineered plans are needed before large excavation or dirt work begins.

Committee members said initial high-level estimates included conservative line items; a contractor bid for site work and some features came in near $106,000, far below the earlier seven-figure example estimate cited in the engineering cost opinion. Committee representatives asked the council to proceed with elements that are ready to bid, including a combined concession/bathroom building, and requested a special meeting to open sealed bids. Staff scheduled a special meeting to open sealed bids for the concession-and-bathroom building during the week noted in the meeting (the board set a special meeting for Monday of the identified week at 4:00 p.m.).

Several council members and committee participants urged caution about moving bulk dirt without civil-engineered plans. The town has a civil engineering report but not finalized engineered construction plans; Sunrise Engineering provided a report and an overall engineering-design estimate (the meeting referenced a $325,000 engineering-design figure for the full project), and committee members said that number can be broken into phases so the town can obtain engineered plans for the field excavation first. Committee members reported the concession/bathroom drawings on hand are sufficient to put that building out to bid and asked staff to publish the request for bids; staff explained the public-notice schedule required publication and a 10-day bid period.

Park project discussion also covered parking constraints for occasional tournaments, potential satellite parking or shuttle options, and inspection oversight for earthwork. Council members asked that engineered designs address drainage and compaction to avoid altering drainage that affects nearby houses; multiple speakers urged that engineered plans be obtained before significant grading to limit risk to adjacent properties. No formal vote was taken to hire full-project engineering during the meeting; the council agreed to place a vote on hiring engineered plans on a future agenda and to have Sunrise or a chosen civil engineer prepare the necessary construction plans for dirt work if the board approves funding.

Ending: The board set a special meeting to open sealed bids for the concession/bathroom building and directed staff and the park committee to return with a recommended engineering scope and cost for the baseball-field excavation at the next regular meeting.