City Commissioners will consider awarding a $83,000 contract to Horn Construction for the West Bank Park phase three project.

The project is means to improve River’s Edge Trail and West Bank Park and implements improvements to the southern portion of the park that were identified in the 2011 West Bank Master Plan and the 2016 Park and Recreation Master Plan.

The major components of the project include:

• Removal of 1,119 feet of aging asphalt trail and replacing with low maintenance 5-inch thick reinforced concrete trail. The trail will be 10 feet wide and grass seeding will be applied to disturbed areas.
• The installation of an ADA sidewalk to allow access to the park from 3rd Avenue Northwest, filling in an existing gap in the sidewalk system. The sidewalk will be 5-feet wide and tie into the existing sidewalk. Reconstruction of the southern corner will be required to meet ADA standards. Backfill along the sidewalk edge and grass seeding will complete the project.

The project is scheduled to start in the spring of 2019.

The city has a professional services agreement with TD&H Engineering that provided the design and construction documents for this project. TD&H will also provide construction phase services and project inspection. Park and Rec staff will maintain the improvements once construction is complete and the department will be responsible for removing the existing asphalt trail as their “in-kind” contribution to the grant project.

West Bank Park master plan improvements nearly complete

In 2010, the planning process for West Bank Park was developed with public involvement. The process was guided by a steering committee and included a site visit with the committee, a town hall meeting, a two-day design charrette, an extensive on-line survey, meetings with neighborhood councils, and various other opportunities for public comment.  The 2016 Park and Recreation Master Plan also included public input and surveys, ranking walking and biking trail improvements a top priority for investing and most important to households.

Five bids were received on Dec. 5 with the base bids ranging between 415 linear feet of trail and 1,119 linear feet of trail and ADA sidewalk. Horn Construction submitted the low bid and executed all the necessary bid documents, according to the city.

Funding for the project was awarded to Park and Recreation from a Missouri-Madison River Fund Grant and included $10,000 in match money from Northwestern Energy and $15,000 from the the River’s Edge Trail Foundation.

The City Commission approved the use of this funding for this project in November 2017.

Park and Rec has also started work on projects included in the Park Maintenance District plans.

In November, commissioners approved a $28,415 professional services agreement with Nelson Architects for design, bidding and inspection for the restoration and remodel improvements at the Electric City Water Park bathhouse, including ADA accessibility.

Grant funds considered for bath house improvements at water park

The agreement is being funded with Community Development Block Grant dollars, according to the city, keeping more park district revenue available for construction.

[READ: Park District information]

Commissioners also approved a contract for labor in November for improvements on Field 7 at the Multi Sports complex.

Improvements to the bottom four fields have been completed over the last few years and now Park and Rec is moving to improve the upper four fields, Park and Rec Director Steve Herrig said.

Depending on project costs for various improvements included in the park district plan for the year, Herrig said the department is hoping to upgrade another field this spring.

The University of Providence is raising some funds to help with that project since they play on Field 7, Herrig said, but doesn’t yet know how much the university will be able to contribute toward the roughly $40,000 project.