Brookfield panel backs review of White & Company contract for Creekide Park grant after trustees press for clearer construction management

Brookfield’s Committee of the Whole met on Monday evening to discuss staff’s recommendation to hire White & Company for the Creekide Park OLAD grant project and to waive the competitive-bidding process. Parks and Recreation Director Luke Gunderson told trustees the grant — awarded in 2024 — covers a Phase 1 package that includes “a playground designed for ages 2 to 12, a picnic shelter, a restroom building, game tables and baggo boards with native plants and removal of invasive species along the river's edge.”

Staff said White & Company helped prepare the successful grant application and that the firm’s proposed design fee (reported around 10 percent) is below the Department of Natural Resources’ maximum of 15.5 percent; familiarity with the project was cited as a reason to request a waiver of the normal bidding process. Luke Gunderson said the firm’s scope will be negotiated between the village and White & Company prior to bringing a contract to the board.

Trustees responded by pressing for firmer contract language that would make construction management explicit rather than assuming responsibility will fall to village staff. Trustee Kutchmark raised a string of recent examples — Ellert Park, Memorial Circle, Candy Cane Park and the canoe launch — saying the sites have shown early decline in plantings or poor implementation and arguing those outcomes stemmed from unclear post-design responsibilities and weak construction oversight. “You will be stunned if you look at the canoe launch,” Kutchmark said, citing visible overgrowth and failed plantings.

Several trustees urged selecting drought-resistant, low-maintenance plantings and writing clearer maintenance expectations into either the consultant’s scope or a separate implementation plan. One trustee said the village’s public spaces should be designed around the maintenance the village can realistically provide rather than assuming private-yard standards.

The committee asked staff to review past contracts and the scope-of-services language used previously and to bring a revised or clarified contract to the full board for consideration; staff proposed scheduling the contract for the August 25 meeting so trustees and staff can resolve scope and construction-management questions before any award.

During the public-comment period a resident identified in the transcript as “Mrs. DuC” asked whether the project phase included a bridge; staff replied that the current grant does not include a bridge and that any bridge would require separate grant funding and additional board approvals. The resident said neighbors in the area opposed unspecified proposals and emphasized long-term residency in the neighborhood; the board said affected residents would be consulted if the subject returns.

Near the end of the meeting the committee voted to go into executive session to discuss purchase or lease of real property under Section 2C5 of the Open Meetings Act. Trustee Naratsu moved the motion, Trustee Ghoulie seconded, and a roll-call vote was held; the motion passed and the committee adjourned into executive session at 7:47 p.m.

What happens next: staff will review the draft scope and past contracts for clarity on construction-management duties and plant/maintenance expectations, and aims to present a contract for board action at the Aug. 25 meeting. The committee took no final action today to award the contract to White & Company; the public record shows only the committee discussion and the subsequent executive-session vote on real property.