Mariemont council accepts Team All Sports bid for Dogwood Park fields, notes intent to limit initial spending

The Village of Mariemont council voted to accept the bid from Team All Sports for the Dogwood Park Field and Baseball Project and authorized the village to enter a contract, while recording that council intends to spend roughly $400,000 in the near term rather than the full bid amount.

Council members and staff spent the meeting reviewing the scope and cost of the project after receiving full bids. Staff said the original low bid totaled $637,000, but the village is pursuing change orders to remove or defer elements — including wholesale replacement of the irrigation system and exporting/importing large volumes of infield material — to reduce the immediate cost. One member asked that the minutes reflect the council’s intent “that council understands that we'll be spending approximately $400,000 with Team All Sports,” language the council agreed to include.

Why it matters: The project was funded in part by grant applications that described a broader “vision” for the park. Council members repeatedly emphasized that the current work is intended as building blocks toward that larger plan but acknowledged the village does not currently have funds to complete everything described in the applications. Staff warned that grant reimbursements can take time and that work must be timed to preserve seeding windows for turf and to meet grant terms.

Details: Staff said the recommendation followed vetting of two contractors; Team All Sports would perform the majority of the work in-house rather than subcontracting major elements. To lower cost, staff proposed removing wholesale irrigation replacement and some excavation/export of material, and making other minor adjustments. Staff estimated the trimmed scope would bring immediate construction spending to roughly $3.97 (in transcript arithmetic) relative to earlier figures; council clarified the working figure for near-term cash flow is about $400,000. An archaeological review and field staking by a surveyor were identified as required pre-work before heavy construction begins.

Contracting and procurement: Staff explained the municipal practice they planned to follow: sign a contract at the bidder’s contract amount and use change orders and a blanket purchase order to control actual disbursements to the project. Council members raised concerns about encumbering large amounts, and staff said the purchase order would be a project-level blanket PO, not a single-vendor lockup, so multiple vendors can draw on it and change orders can reduce the village’s expenditures over time.

Schedule and next steps: Staff said they could issue a notice to proceed if the mayor signs the contract and the funds are encumbered; they indicated Team All Sports could be cleared to start as early as Aug. 4, subject to completing a site meeting, archaeological checks and final encumbrances. Staff reiterated the need to coordinate timing to preserve fall seeding/planting windows and to comply with grant reimbursement requirements.

Vote: The council conducted first, second and third readings and voted to adopt the resolution accepting the bid, authorizing the contract and moving forward; roll-call votes were recorded as ‘Aye’ by the council members present (identified in the meeting roll call). The council also revoked the emergency clause for the item during the meeting but approved the contract authorization.

What remains unresolved: Final, approved change-order language and the precise immediate encumbrance amount were not specified in the resolution; staff committed to bringing revised numbers to the committee and to the council for follow-up. The timing of reimbursements from grantors and any required county or state approvals remain contingent factors.