Heath Park Board hears update on Town Center Park renovation; well rebid could delay final phase
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Summary
The Heath Park Board received a progress update on Town Center Park on Aug. 4, 2025. Staff said the park is largely a utility project, a community irrigation well is being rebid after an expensive initial bid, and the revised park completion date is February 2026; some final fields depend on the well.
The Heath Park Board on Aug. 4 received a detailed update on the Town Center Park renovation, including a rebid of a community well whose cost could delay completion of the park’s final fields and irrigation.
City staff and public works officials described the project as primarily a utility and drainage effort that will include a splash pad, covered pickleball courts, an event stage, multiple sports fields, a pond and “over 300” trees. Brian Craig, director of public works, said the project “was mostly a utility project” and that the team has focused on drainage and mass grading before moving on to vertical construction.
Why it matters: the well and utilities work are outside the park’s capital budget and are required to irrigate several fields and establish the park’s landscaping. That means delays or higher well costs would force phased openings or additional borrowing.
Craig said the well bid that council reviewed earlier returned a base bid of $9.2 million with an alternate of $8.6 million; council rejected that bid and utilities is preparing to rebid. Staff told the board there was about $4.5 million in reserve toward the well but that additional borrowing will be necessary to fully fund the scope described in the bid. “We received one bid and then a base bid and an alternate bid,” the transcript records; staff said rebidding is under way.
Project features and donor funding: Kimley‑Horn designed the park, and the city contracted a construction-manager-at-risk (Hill and Wilkinson) to deliver the project. The park will include eight pickleball courts (six covered), a splash feature, a new stage and festival street with capacity for food trucks. A donor covered the cost to fully cover most pickleball courts and other donors have committed naming-rights contributions; staff said a $200,000 donor commitment already covered the shade for the pickleball pavilion.
Costs and operations: officials said some contract and utility elements were unexpectedly complex. Staff described finding an undocumented water line on site that required regrading and added work. Maintenance for the renovated portion of the park was discussed at roughly $300,000 a year; additional park positions were included in the proposed budget to support the new facilities. Craig said the well and related electrical work are being managed through the utilities budget rather than the park project budget.
Timeline and next steps: Craig told the board the revised completion date for the park is currently scheduled for February 2026, and that some fields could open in phases if the well is not in place. Staff will rebid the well and return information on parking counts, field dimensions and a refined schedule to the board. The board and staff also discussed using PATH fundraising and private donations to restore items that were de-scoped from the bond budget.
The board received the report and will monitor the utilities rebid and funding plan ahead of future council decisions.
