Morganton council awards engineering contract to McAdams for Catawba Meadows and soccer complex rebuilds

MORGANTON, N.C. — The Morganton City Council on Oct. 14 voted to award an engineering-services contract to McAdams to lead design and construction administration for the rebuilds of Catawba Meadows Park and the Catawba River Soccer Complex.

City staff presented the procurement process to the council: staff issued an RFQ, received 14 proposals, interviewed six firms and recommended McAdams for the work. McAdams senior project manager Nick Lowe told the council his firm will manage civil, structural, geotechnical and sports-field specialists on the project and produce a 30% design that staff can use for reliable cost estimates.

“Once we make that decision, hammer down, let’s get permitted, and then let’s go get a contractor to build these because we know we want to be playing soccer next fall,” Nick Lowe said during his presentation, describing the firm’s schedule and emphasis on delivering resilient, tournament-quality fields.

Staff said McAdams’ fee to carry the project from site investigation through permitting and construction administration is approximately $1,500,000 and that McAdams estimated total rebuild costs at roughly $15–$18 million. The council approved a contract not to exceed $1,570,618 and authorized the mayor or city manager to sign the agreement and related documents.

Sally, a city staff member who led the procurement presentation, told the council the project must account for floodplain constraints and other post-storm site conditions. “We’re losing money every day that those fields aren’t being used,” she said, noting the parks are a regional tourism draw and that prior staff work reduced consultant effort on the scope.

Councilors discussed the project’s scope and the need to separate resilient rebuilds from simply replacing turf and fences. Staff emphasized the proposal is currently written as a not-to-exceed figure and that the city will return to council if new site investigations require contract adjustments.

The council also approved moving cash-flow loan proceeds awarded by the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer into the Helene Capital Projects Fund to help pay for the parks work; the motion passed by voice vote. The transcript’s numeric formatting for the transfer amount is unclear and the council did not record a detailed roll-call tally in the meeting record.

The council took the actions by voice vote; the record shows the presiding official declared the motions passed. With no further business, the presiding official adjourned the meeting.

What’s next: City staff and McAdams will proceed with site investigations, early design milestones and cost estimating so the council can review schematic designs and firm cost estimates at later meetings.