Sammamish council declines schematic design contract for Big Rock Park South after heated debate

Sammamish City Council on March 3 voted down a motion to authorize the city manager to execute a schematic design contract with HBB Landscape Architecture for Big Rock Park South, after members questioned the timing and lifecycle costs of the project. The motion, for a clarified contract amount of $606,956.25 for schematic design work, failed on a 5-2 vote.

Councilors and staff framed schematic design as the next technical step in implementing the adopted Big Rock Park master plan: it would fund topographic surveys, hydrology and stormwater studies, utility stubs and design details needed to move from a conceptual plan toward construction. "Schematic design is considered 30% of that completed construction document," Parks Project Manager Michelle Arab said, adding schematics help validate feasibility and probable…