“This time around, we received several bids, and we’re excited to move forward with the project,” Bostdorff said.
Work on the park is hoped to start this winter, and ramp up as the weather improves in early spring with construction occurring all of next year, and “potentially bleeding into the first few months of 2025″ with the intent that the city will be able to host the summer concert series at Stubbs Park in 2025.
The project, which was estimated to cost $3.9 million when it was first bid out in early 2022, is now estimated to cost just over $7.5 million, Bostdorff said.
“We have now bid the project three times, so we have a clearer perspective of the actual cost,” she said. “The increase is generally because of the addition of more improvements within the project and the inflation of labor and materials costs since 2019.”
Those added improvements include constructing a new utility building, consolidating ditches and swales throughout the park to improve stormwater management and water quality, expanding and combining three ponds located north of the amphitheater and transforming thousands of feet of narrow gravel paths into 8-foot-wide asphalt trails.
The overall project also includes improvements to the amphitheater’s bandshell, seating area and plaza, city officials previously said. Specific improvements to the bandshell during the first phase of improvements include renovations to fix structural deterioration and new and improved theatrical lighting and sound.
Amphitheater improvements also will included handicap-accessible event seating, updated dance pads and structured grass terrace seating, officials said. Renovations also include creating a new event plaza next to the amphitheater, which will have a larger seating and concession area, picnic lawns, a designated food truck area and a deck by the pond. They also include upgrading the concessions and restroom buildings to comply with ADA regulation.
The project also will create a naturalized water edge to enhance the habitat for plants and animals and add a new parking lot for both the Veterans Memorial and the amphitheater. That will relocate parking off the main drive aisle, enhance ADA accessibility and improve traffic flow for both vehicles and pedestrians.
The renovations also includes replacing an aging playground in the park with new playground equipment and a solid rubber surface.
Centerville City Council voted 4-2 to award the contract Nov. 20 to the lowest and best bidder Outdoor Enterprise for a bid amount of $7,526,585, plus an additional contingency amount of $752,659, which is 10% of the bid, for a total award of $8,279,244, she said.
Bostdorff said the contingency is a buffer and would not have been included in the initial $3.9 million.
Four grants will help fund the improvements, including an $800,000 State Capital Fund grant, a $500,000 Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Land and Water Conservation grant, a $150,000 ODNR Recreational Trails Program grant and an ODNR NatureWorks grant of $150,000.
Mayor Brooks Compton and City Councilwoman Belinda Kenley told Dayton Daily News they voted “no” due to concerns with bidding process, not as any criticism of the recommendation by city staff.
“I was just basically uncomfortable with the way the bidding process evolved and that there were two options that were presented for such an important project,” Compton said. “I was concerned and I thought that by that approach it could lead to an evaluation of the proposals differently.”
Compton said the “no vote” wasn’t a criticism of the recommendation by city staff.
Kenley agreed.
“There were two good contractors with great track records and references, both with their city work in Centerville, as well as the communities around us.” Kenley told this news outlet. “When I voted ‘no’ I wasn’t being critical of the staff decision to go with Outdoor (Enterprise), but I was just uncomfortable with how the bidding process evolved. Bidders could present two approaches to the bid response, which I thought seems like an unfair advantage for one of the firms.”
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