Peachtree City Council approved a budget amendment on Nov. 25 to fund permanent repairs to the Drake Field pavilion after staff recommended awarding the construction contract to Willowdale.

City engineer Dave Borkowski told council the pavilion exhibited wood rot in structural beams and staff solicited bids. Four bids were received, ranging from $84,900 to $270,000. Staff interviewed the two lowest bidders and recommended Willowdale as the responsive, responsible bidder because Willowdale proposed sanding members to bare wood, would repair incidental damage from beam replacement and proposed a full support and lift method for replacing the beams. Willowdale’s construction price in the staff presentation was $119,405.

During the council meeting a motion was made to approve the budget amendment for the Drake Pavilion permanent repair; the motion passed by voice vote. In the motion recorded on the agenda, council approved a budget amendment in the amount of $1,919,405 for the Drake Pavilion permanent repair (as stated by the council member making the motion in the meeting transcript).

The record contains both the staff recommendation for Willowdale at $119,405 (contract award recommendation) and a separate budget amendment figure recorded in the motion. Staff indicated the work was an emergency repair and unbudgeted, requiring a council budget amendment. Council members asked about potential hidden conditions, change orders and bidder responsiveness before voting.

Next steps: Staff to finalize the contract with the recommended contractor, process the approved budget amendment and proceed with the permanent repair.