Following a lengthy discussion during last night’s (Tuesday) Carroll City Council meeting, city officials approved a $1.3 million bid from Badding Construction to move forward with planned improvements to Merchants Park later this summer. The city opened bids for the project earlier this month with responses from three contractors to install new lighting, safety nets along the baselines, ADA-compliant seating, a new press box, and expanded dugouts. The lowest bidder was Badding Construction at $1.307 million. The initial construction estimate for the project several years ago was $921,000, and Ward 2 Councilman Jason Atherton says he’s concerned about how expensive the project has grown.
Including engineering fees and contingencies, the total project cost is now $1.503 million. Funding already allocated to the renovations includes $353,800 from the City of Carroll, $50,000 from Carroll County, $30,000 from the Carroll and Kuemper school districts, $300,000 in private fundraising, and $323,000 in grants, leaving the city to find another $475,000 for the project. Parks and Rec Director Chad Tiemeyer suggests the city fill the shortfall with unallocated trail money.
Chris Whitaker, who wrote many of the grants for the Merchants Park project and serves on the Carroll Athletic Association/Merchants boards, has been involved in the park renovations since 2014. He says the city will lose more than $650,000 in funding for the effort if it doesn’t proceed with the project as presented.
Initially, the council would have funded about a third of the total project cost. Ward 3 Councilman Kyle Bauer says the city’s share may increase with higher-than-expected bids. However, Carroll taxpayers are still seeing their money leveraged efficiently.
Atherton says he opposes the high price tag, not the renovations. In the end, the council voted 5-1, with Atherton as the sole nay vote, to approve Badding Construction’s bid. Construction is scheduled to get underway as soon as this summer’s baseball season wraps up near the end of July. Video from Tuesday’s council discussion is included below.
