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Tiburon commissioners approve Bel Air play-area concept, ask consultants to pare costs
Summary
The Post Commission advanced the Bel Air Play Area concept and directed consultants to produce lower-cost options and a phased plan before the item goes to town council. Consultants flagged porous paving and grading as major cost drivers and proposed phasing to trim initial outlays.
The Tiburon Post Commission voted to advance the draft final design for the Bel Air Play Area and asked staff and the landscape consultant to return with value-engineered options and phasing scenarios to reduce the project's price before presenting it to town council.
Carlisle Macy landscape designer Brianna presented the 60% design, describing a natural-surface quarter-mile loop path that connects to sidewalks on Caron and Clearway ways, native planting buffers, reduced picnic furnishings, two benches (one with wheelchair companion seating), and a bi-level drinking fountain with a pet bowl. The consultant said the package, as costed for this stage, came to just under $690,000 and currently includes a 10% construction contingency.
Commissioners and staff focused questioning on the biggest cost drivers: grading (presenter estimated roughly $70,000) to achieve an accessible path from the steeper Karen Way entrance, and paving (about $160,000 in the current estimate). Brianna described three surfacing options and their tradeoffs: porous pave (roughly $16 per square foot), decomposed-granite with binder (about $9 per square foot), and an infill blend used on school tracks; porous pave is more durable and can avoid metal edging but is more expensive upfront. The consultant also noted municipal connection fees for a new water meter and irrigation were not yet included in the construction estimate.
Commissioner comments emphasized price sensitivity. Staff (David) said contractor indirect costs and markups vary by bidder and that the town will return to council with actual bid results for award decisions. Instead of rejecting the design, the commission directed the consultant and staff to identify ways to reduce the near-term cost or split work into phases so the town can present lower-cost alternatives alongside the full design to council. One commissioner asked consultants to show direct construction costs separately from contingency and to present lower-cost options for paving and irrigation.
No final dollar amount was mandated at this meeting; commissioners asked the design team to return with refined pricing and suggested the commission's subcommittee would review value-engineered options before a council hearing. The commission's action means the plan will move forward in the design process but with a clear instruction to reduce initial costs or phase elements to improve the project's chance of being funded by council.
