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Parks director: river access letting moved to June; sports‑field lighting bids under review
Summary
Parks staff told the Harlan City Council the river access project letting is scheduled for June after a required archaeological study; the city received four bids for sports‑field lighting (reported roughly $755,000 to $1.5 million) and is evaluating pole replacement vs. reinforcement to manage cost and lead time.
At the March 18 Harlan City Council meeting, Mr. Miller, the city parks presenter, updated members on multiple parks capital projects and fundraising work.
"We are scheduled for June letting," Miller said of the river access project, noting the letting date was pushed back to allow completion of a required Class I archaeological study; staff hopes construction will allow public use by early fall. He told council that moving the letting into June improves budget timing because it falls outside of the interim budget year and may limit year‑to‑year impacts.
On sports‑field lighting at JJ Jensen (transcript also records a later reference as JJ Johnson), Miller said the city received four bids presented in three scope options: (1) all five fields together, (2) Field 2 only early, and (3) the remaining four fields later. He reported bids ranged roughly from $755,000 to about $1.5 million and that some bidders noted tariff and lead‑time uncertainty for poles and materials; staff is evaluating whether to replace poles or reinforce existing poles to reduce cost and delivery time.
Miller also said the Dream Playground fundraising schedule is active: a pizza‑and‑puzzle night is set for March 27 (20 teams entered), the group will pursue major matching grants in May, bids for construction will be issued in April, and staff hopes to pour concrete late August–early September with a targeted completion date of November 1.
Next steps: staff will continue bid reviews (including verifying manufacturers and lead times), bring pole‑replacement options and final bid recommendations back to council, and proceed with fundraising and grant applications for the playground.
