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Council approves Creekside Park construction contract after swapping exotic decking for manufactured pine
Summary
Council authorized a construction contract for Creekside Park and, after concerns about sustainability of ipe decking raised by a community member, directed the use of manufactured pine decking instead and approved an amended contract amount to reflect that change.
The Johns Creek City Council authorized construction of Creekside Park on July 29, approving a contract award to Reeves Young that includes the base bid and alternates. Public Works Director Eric Haggard told council the project is funded from TSPLoss, the general fund, park-bond proceeds and grant sources, and that staff and the contractor had suggested using ipe decking as an alternate to manufactured pine to save approximately $148,000.
At least one community member raised sustainability and legality concerns about ipe sourced from rainforest regions, noting reports that a substantial portion of ipe is illegally harvested in sensitive ecosystems. Council members discussed those supply-chain and sustainability concerns and directed staff to revert to the originally recommended manufactured-pine decking despite the higher cost. Staff indicated the increase could be absorbed with a TSPLoss budget amendment and cited a revised contract total on the record.
Director Haggard said the contract award to Reeves Young includes alternates previously discussed and that substantial portions of the Creekside Park budget had been reserved over multiple years. Council moved and seconded an amended motion to authorize the construction contract using manufactured pine decking; the motion passed.
The decision locks in procurement and design choices for a long-awaited town-center park element and directs staff to proceed with the necessary budget amendment and contract finalization.
