City staff reported that three bids for the Teton River Park South project exceeded the budget by a substantial margin. After working with the low bidder to identify cost reductions, staff concluded the necessary cuts would materially change the project and recommended rejecting all bids and returning to design with a reduced scope that fits available funding.

The council accepted staff’s recommendation. Staff said likely scope reductions will remove several optional amenities from the bid package (examples discussed included the sand volleyball area, some lookout platforms and an engineered river beach access) and leave a basic park and green‑space buildout. The parks committee will review the revised scope before staff issues a new request for bids.

What the council decided
By motion, the council rejected all submitted bids and directed staff to rework the project to align with available funds and then rebid. The parks committee will review the revised scope at its next meeting.

Next steps
Staff will return with a revised scope and budget for the project, reflecting the reduced items discussed in the meeting, and will seek bids when the adjusted package is ready.

Attribution and sourcing
Comments about bid levels and recommended deletions were presented by staff managing the project; council voted unanimously to reject the bids and rebid with reduced parameters.