Warren County unveils multi-park turf, playground and shade upgrades with contractor penalties in RFPs

Parks and recreation officials told the Warren County Fiscal Court they will convert multiple infields to artificial turf, refurbish seven playgrounds with ADA-compliant surfacing, and install 16 cantilever shade systems on dugouts as part of a multi-phase capital project.

Parks representative Russ (presenting) said the project includes turf infields at 10 locations (Michael Buchanan upper complex, Ethan White Park, Basil Griffin Park, Fillmore Park and others), seven playground upgrades including a large tower system at Ephraim White Park, and shade structures for dugouts at Michael Buchanan. He identified Nationwide Construction as the athletic-field contractor and Miracle Recreation as the playground supplier and gave a phased schedule: playground mobilization on Sept. 7; Fillmore Park and Ephraim White closures to begin Sept. 17; field conversions after Oct. 31 and Nov. 15 depending on site.

To protect the county—s investment, the RFP front end includes liquidated damages and site conditions: a $500 per day penalty for an unclean site visit, $2,500 per day per uncompleted field after substantial completion, and a $5,000 per day per field penalty for missed tournament weekends or events. Parks staff said tournaments and commercial users will see rate adjustments next year to reflect the upgraded, premium facilities.

A magistrate asked whether tournament fees would rise; parks staff said commercial tournament rates "will most likely increase" and rate adjustments will be proposed with next year's rate-change report. The court received the presentation and will track project updates with monthly public posts and a planned status brief on the county website.