The township board rejected a pair of bids for an amphitheatre at Civic Center Park last week, but said they remain committed to the project.
Rejection of the bids was recommended by engineering consultants from Orchard, Hiltz and McCliment, Inc, who estimated the project would cost around $250,000. The received bids were around $380,000 and $441,000.
‘We feel that the township could get a better price if they re-bid the item in the spring,? said OHM’s Kristofer Enlow.
The board was in favor of rejecting the bids, but instead of putting it off until spring, they appointed a sub-committee of Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk and Trustees John Garlicki and Neal Porter.
In addition to considering options for proceeding with construction of the amphitheatre, that committee is also charged with looking into the skate park project.
‘I don’t want to wait another nine months on this and re-bid it in the spring,? said Trustee Matt Gibb, a sentiment echoed by fellow board members.
There is $100,000 restricted for the project and the township has received over $100,000 more in donations from residents and businesses (in both monetary value and in-kind service promises).
In addition, the township applied for a grant earlier this year, which could net $100,000 for the project. Waiting on the grant, however, has complicated things in the mind of some board members.
‘The longer we put it off, the more expensive it gets,? Dywasuk said. ‘I’d hate to lose the grant money, but it’s no guarantee that we’ll even get it.?
The idea of spending upwards of $400,000 on the project was unanimously rejected.
‘On the Parks & Recreation Committee, we discussed and came up with a figure that was much lower than this,? Garlicki said, prompting the idea of a sub-committee to re-evaluate the situation.
Sub-committee members said they’d like both Enlow and architect Stephen Auger to be involved in their conversations.
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Another idea?
George Sinnott, a member of the North Oakland Concert Band, which has offered financial support to the amphitheatre project, has proposed a new idea.
In a letter to the board received earlier this month, Sinnott suggests placing the amphitheatre in the location of the Sheardy Pavilion (pictured above) at Civic Center Park.
He said put the amphitheatre there could eliminate over $100,000 from the cost of the project, as much of the site preparation costs could be shed.
While board members didn’t entirely dismiss the idea, they didn’t give it rousing support either, expressing concerns over putting a giant amphitheatre shell in that portion of the park.
Some board members also said they liked the notion of having a hill to sit on at the amphitheatre.