Town Center Park renovation advancing but irrigation well bid forces council review

City staff reported progress and remaining obstacles Friday on the multi‑million‑dollar Town Center Park renovation, saying most grading, storm sewer and paving work is in place but the project cannot finish key features — including the pond and surrounding overlooks — until an 18/12‑inch water line is relocated and the city resolves an overpriced irrigation‑well bid.

The update to the Parks and Recreation Board focused on schedule milestones, utility conflicts and the city’s options for watering the new turf and landscaping. Board members were told that while much of the park’s underground storm and drainage work is installed, the pond area remains inaccessible to heavy equipment until a live water line that runs through the pond location is moved.

That water‑line discovery and separate bids for a permanent irrigation well have created a timing and budget problem that city staff will present to council. The well bid opened June 24 and returned a low alternative of about $8.6 million, with roughly $4 million attributed to drilling and more than $3 million for electrical work and temporary systems, staff said. Because the bid price is substantially higher than earlier expectations and because long electrical lead times were included in the bid, staff will ask council to review alternatives before proceeding.

Brian (presenter), a city staff member giving the update, told the board that crews have completed “75% of mass grading” and much of the storm sewer (reported at about 90% installed as of July 10). He said 60% of paving had been poured and that irrigation and landscaping work was only about 5% complete because crews have focused on sleeves and crossings pending final grading near the pond.

The contractor cannot pour the pond walls or install the overlook until the water line that cuts through the pond footprint is removed or bypassed. Staff described excavation that revealed a previously cut 12‑inch line and an unexpected 3‑inch legacy line tied to an older system; engineers plan a bypass and a re‑route to allow construction to proceed.

On the well, staff said the original project design contemplated a large‑capacity well — sized to deliver hundreds of thousands of gallons per day — and that the bid included a compressed schedule that likely pushed prices higher. Staff estimated drilling at roughly $4 million and attributed the balance to electrical works, sound baffles, temporary pumping and the schedule constraints; they noted electrical lead times can be 30 to 60 weeks for some components. The board was told the city could consider narrower alternatives (for example, an irrigation‑only well) but that any redesign or rebid would delay the park further.

Board members pressed staff on interim watering options. Staff said they can use potable water to fill the new pond and run irrigation from the pond for short periods, and they discussed temporary trucking or other stopgap measures, but engineers told the board the initial establishment of the new turf will require a large volume of water — engineers estimated about 600,000 gallons in a week to establish root systems — making short‑term trucking expensive and logistically difficult.

Staff also described other construction challenges that have been resolved or remain in process: primary power had to be redesigned and relocated in the Dry Creek area because it conflicted with final grade; a privately owned eight‑inch gas line was discovered on a storm outlet alignment and had to be moved by the utility company; and several light and electrical conduits were found too shallow and will be brought up to code. The city budget includes an item of about $50,000 to address shallow electrical conduits discovered during grading.

Milestone dates staff provided include: school parking paving and related work expected in August; Festival Street completion targeted for November 5; pickleball and shade structure completion later in the year; and staged completion dates for fields, playgrounds and Dry Creek moving into late 2025 and early 2026. Staff emphasized that the pond work is the gating item for much of the remaining interior park work.

Staff said they will brief city council the following evening on the well bids and utility conflicts and seek direction; the board agreed it preferred staff to present options rather than immediately rebidding and risking further delay. Staff also described a plan to break electrical scope out of the single enclosure near the well so that park electrical work can proceed independently of the well construction, allowing most park elements to be finished even if the full well is postponed.

The board’s discussion closed with requests that staff return with any recommended changes to the well scope or bid language, and with a reminder that council must weigh the tradeoff between keeping the park schedule and accepting higher up‑front costs to secure a permanent irrigation source.