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Oconee County staff recommend Carter Engineering for Dawson Park design; gymnasiums to be procured separately
Summary
County staff told commissioners they will terminate the first design contract and proceed with Carter Engineering for most park design work, while contracting architecture and engineering for two gymnasiums and a field services building separately.
Oconee County staff recommended on Tuesday that the Board of Commissioners move forward with Carter Engineering for the primary design services for Dawson Park and treat the two gymnasiums and a Field Services Building as separate design procurements.
Justin, a county staff member who presented the item, said the county previously contracted with a firm identified in the presentation as Los to perform schematic concept design and that proposal pricing had been based on a $15 million estimated construction budget. Justin said Los' submittal did not include all the engineering scope the county wanted, so county staff evaluated an alternate proposal from Carter Engineering and recommended switching vendors for the core park design.
Justin said Carter Engineering's proposal for the park design — excluding the two gymnasiums and the Field Services Building — was $759,900. He said the county plans to terminate the contract with Los and direct-source, using selection criteria, separate architectural/engineering contracts for the two gymnasiums and the Field Services Building and return those contracts to the commission for approval.
On scheduling, Justin said staff expects to advertise construction bids for Dawson Park by the second quarter of next year and to return architectural services contracts for the gymnasiums and Field Services Building to the commission by the end of the second quarter of this year. Commissioners discussed financing options during the meeting and noted the project could be the largest the county has undertaken. One commissioner urged staff to begin evaluating financing approaches, including reallocation of the current SPLOST and possible inclusion in the next SPLOST cycle.
The commission did not take a formal vote on the staff recommendation at the meeting; Justin said staff would bring the recommended contracts and any required termination paperwork back to the board. The item remains subject to formal contract action and appropriation as part of the county budget process.
