City of Monroe approves contracts for Cairns Park update
The City of Monroe took the next step this week in its planned overhaul of Father Cairns Park.
At its meeting Monday night, Monroe City Council unanimously passed a resolution that approves multiple contracts and funding source allocations related to the $3.7 million re-imagining of the 4.2-acre, city-owned property. Expected to begin this spring and be completed by the fall, the revamp will see pickleball, tennis and basketball courts, off-street parking, a water feature and an expanded playground for children added to the park located adjacent to Eighth and Union Streets.
Earlier report:City of Monroe takes control of South Roessler Street dead end area
Per the resolution approved Monday, Dundee-based Salenbien Trucking & Excavating, Inc. will serve as the primary contractor for the project. The firm was the low bid, and has worked with the city on numerous, similarly sized projects in the past. Additionally, City Manager Vince Pastue said that an option included in Salenbien's bid to seed the park rather than use sod lowered the estimated cost of the project even further.
"The amount of the bid was $2,650,369," Pastue said. "Contained in the bid specs was an alternative that we're recommending from a staff standpoint, which would reduce their amount by $62,000, that would involve seeding the lawn as opposed to using sod..."
The city will contract with Penchura, LLC for supply and installation of the play equipment and ground surfacing, two shelters, tennis and pickleball courts and related equipment, and other site amenities. It will also contract with Vortex International for the supply and installation of a splash pad, and DTE Energy for site lighting.
Pastue said that the total cost of the park's overhaul exceeds the city's current budget for the project. Because of this, additional funds were sourced from the city's investment earnings from its American Rescue Plan Act funds, general fund dollars assigned for tax appeals, reallocated Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds originally earmarked for planned improvements to the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge, and capital project fund.
"(This park project) was a complicated, complex project with complex funding sources," Pastue said.
Pastue noted that the engineer's original cost estimate for the project could not fully anticipate the effects of the ongoing nationwide issues with the economy. As for the funds being diverted from the MLK Bridge project, the city manager said that further investigation led city administration to believe that it would not have qualified for the CDBG funds anyway. He said that that project will use an alternative funding source when it moves forward.
"We kind of questioned the eligibility of using the CDBG funds for that project," Pastue said. "The conservative thing was 'Let's find another source for it.'"
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: City of Monroe approves contracts for Cairns Park update
