HomeMy WebLinkAboutDirector's Memo - December
City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 920.236.5000 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us
TO: Advisory Park Board
FROM: Ray Maurer, Parks Director
DATE: December 3, 2021
RE: December 6, 2021 Meeting
1. Discuss/recommend 2022 Parks Department Capital Improvement Program (CIP)
projects to potentially defer
Bids for the Lakeshore Park 4 Season building were opened on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.
The city received three bids for the project. The low bid was $3,807,322, next lowest was
$4,464,887 and highest bid was $4,601,555. City staff had identified approximately $3,000,000
in funding for the building project.
On Thursday, November 11, city staff was contacted by the apparent low bidder requesting
to withdraw their bid due to an “error in the calculation of the bid” as they discovered an
omission of costs associated with site utilities and various building components. City staff
requested further information, clarification and documentation of this error and determined
that it was an honest mistake so their bid has been withdrawn. The next lowest bid of
$4,464,887 leaves the city approximately $1,500,000 short in funding to proceed with the
project at this time. Substantial increases in material costs appears to be the main reason for
the higher than anticipated bids.
On Tuesday, November 23, the Common Council discussed the building project and potential
funding sources for the approximate $1.5 million shortfall. It was the consensus of the Council
that they want to see the project move forward at this time and directed city staff to identify
potential funding sources outside of increasing the borrowing for 2022. One potential that
the Council discussed was the possibility of deferring other city CIP projects in 2022 and
utilizing those funds for the 4 seasons building project. As this may affect the prioritized park
projects that the Advisory Park Board recommended earlier this year and the park projects
that were actually funded in 2022, the Board has been asked to provide input.
Following are the Parks Department projects that were funded in the 2022 CIP:
New Parks Admin/Operations building - $5,100,000
Menominee Park Pratt Trail Road reconstruction - $1,000,000
Lakeshore Park development (trails, west parking lot) - $250,000
Menominee Park beach bathhouse - $150,000
Zoo improvements (security fence, path work) - $100,000
Westhaven Circle Park lights replacement - $30,000
Park trails improvements - $25,000
This list includes the top priority projects that the Advisory Parks Board recommended to the
Council in June of this year and the Council moved up the Pratt Trail road reconstruction
project that the Board had recommended be funded in 2023 and 2024 at $500,000 each year.
Additionally, the Lakeshore Park development project budget was reduced from the
originally proposed $1,338,800 as the DNR grant that we applied for was only tentatively
approved at $216,638 versus the $669,400 that we had applied for. Therefore, that project
scope needed to be reduced.
With the 4 season building bids coming in significantly higher than anticipated, city staff and
the Council are also anticipating that the bids for the new parks admin/operations building
will most likely come in higher than what we have budgeted. That project is scheduled for
bidding in February so we will know more then. Therefore, as we work on identifying
potential funding sources for the 4 seasons building shortfall, we are also preparing for the
likelihood that the parks admin/operations building may require additional funds as well.
The one project that the Council had some preliminary discussion on deferring to help fund
the 4 seasons building was the Menominee Park Pratt Trail reconstruction since that project
was moved up in the CIP process from the originally proposed 2023/2024. That is why they
requested input from the Advisory Park Board.
I have been working closely with the City Manager and Finance Director to identify potential
funding sources for the 4 seasons building so that the Pratt Trail project is not affected at this
time. However, those funds may eventually need to be considered for the parks
admin/operations building project if those bids come in higher than budget. The Board will
discuss at the meeting.
If you have questions prior to the meeting, please feel free to contact me at 236-5080.
If you will not be able to attend the meeting, please contact Stacy James,
Administrative Assistant, at 236-5080. Thank you in advance.