Lancaster County officials update regional park plans, warn of substantial site work and higher costs

Lancaster County staff on the county's regional park project told the Lancaster County Council that design and permitting are complete and the project will go to bid in coming months, but the county should expect "sticker shock" once true site costs are revealed.

County staff presented details about the park site, its phasing and remaining permitting steps, and emphasized that bids in September through the end of the year will show actual construction costs. "This is just a reminder that in October 2023, the council approved a budget of $34,700,000," County staff member Snowden said, adding that the design team completed construction documents in recent months and started preliminary construction documents in January before refining them into final documents in May.

The project team described the planned amenities: three baseball fields, an enhanced splash pad, an inclusive (adaptive) playground, soccer fields and a maintenance/storage building. Snowden said the design team has completed 60-foot borings to assess subsurface conditions and that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed its review and "agreed with the design." She also said the water and sewer district requires a sewer trunk line be permitted and operational prior to land disturbance, and Lennar Homes has provided a right of entry for access road and sewer construction.

Why it matters: large earthmoving and utility conditions could materially raise the park's cost and change phasing. Council and staff discussed soil, grading and traffic implications while confirming the county plans to move ahead to bidding and pursue sponsorships and funding options once bid numbers are known.

Council questions focused on grading and quantities of topsoil to be redistributed on-site. Snowden said the team estimates about 42,100 cubic yards of topsoil on-site and that, if that topsoil were trucked off the property, it would equal roughly 3,000 to 4,200 standard dump-truck loads (10 to 14 cubic yards per truck). She said the project team plans to salvage and reuse as much topsoil as possible by placing it into deep fills on site to save cost and create a bridge layer. Snowden noted an engineering specification for bearing density for the retaining wall of 120 pounds per cubic foot and that the measured density at one wall location is currently about 90 pounds per cubic foot.

Staff flagged potential obstacles including rock, storm-drain elevations, a retaining wall bearing issue and excess topsoil. "We did do additional borings, 60 feet deep," Snowden said. She also described the county's approach to procurement: staff is evaluating design-bid-build versus using a construction manager at risk to shift some price risk to a contractor, and estimated a construction-manager fee in the 5% to 7% range of the project if that approach is used.

On schedule and next steps: staff said construction documents and permitting are the immediate priorities, with additional updates planned in November and December and bids anticipated later in the year. Snowden said the county will use bid results to refine phasing and to shape sponsorship outreach for nonnegotiable amenities such as the splash pad and adaptive playground. "We need to be ready to go to bid in September and see what things will look like," she said.

No formal council action was taken on the park during the update; the presentation served as an informational briefing.

The county also discussed traffic study work tied to the park entrance location. Snowden said the approved entrance will come off Roseland Parkway (also referred to in the presentation as Roseland Avenue in places) and the technical review committee is evaluating the traffic impact analysis for intersections including Roseland Avenue and U.S. 521. Staff said road improvements identified by the traffic analysis would be treated as project costs and funded from the project budget or future transportation recommendations as appropriate.

Council members requested a field visit and further mapping to better visualize grading and access. Snowden said staff will arrange follow-up briefings and can provide a site tour.

Ending: staff reiterated that bids will provide the definitive cost picture and that the county will return with permitting updates, bid results and a proposed phasing plan.