Highland Village council authorizes CMAR hire for Pilot Knoll Park; debate centers on $3M+ utility needs and cabin economics

The Highland Village City Council on June 10 authorized the city manager to negotiate and execute a construction-manager-at-risk (CMAR) contract with Dean Construction to advance design and pricing for Pilot Knoll Park improvements, including infrastructure work the city says is needed to keep the park operating.

Council action approves a CMAR fee structure of 3.5% for construction-phase fees and 8.5% for general-conditions fees; council discussion made clear those percentages will be applied to a later guaranteed maximum price (GMP) developed after bidders price final construction packages. The motion carried 7-0.

City staff and consultants told the council that the park’s water and septic systems date to the 1960s–1970s and are failing, and that replacing them is effectively prerequisite work for other improvements. Staff presented a range of cost estimates developed during design and feasibility work: the city’s draft engineering estimates put a full water-and-sewer upgrade at roughly $3.6 million (about $1.2 million for water only and roughly $2.0–2.2 million for sanitary sewer), plus an earlier cabins-and-amenity package that has been budgeted in capital plans at roughly $2.6 million for 16 rental cabins. Staff said engineering and contingency add materially to total program cost; the council was shown a 20% escalation to reach a current planning figure of about $10.8 million for the bundled park package when county and bond items are included.

Why it matters: park staff and the consultant team framed the CMAR hire as a way to produce real, bid-level cost numbers quickly and to let the city test several options (full program, utilities-only, or…