Alameda pool repair bid tabled
With summer approaching, the county commissioners took action Wednesday, March 27, on several park projects, but tabled a vote on the biggest project due to an unexpectedly high cost proposal.
The commissioners tabled voting on the lone bid submitted by the deadline to replaster the main pool at Alameda Park because it was almost double the anticipated cost.
All State Technology of New Jersey submitted a bid that included a base bid of $549,000 and five alternate bids for addition work totaling $184,000 for a total bid of $733,000.
Bids were due by 4 p.m. Tuesday in the controller’s office, according to the county’s advertisement for the project.
The county anticipated the cost to be less than $400,000, said Leslie Osche, commissioners chairman.
“I think its going to be important for us to reassemble and look at what our options are,” Osche said.
The commissioners could direct more money to the project and ratify All State’s bid at a future meeting or take other action, she said.
Another option is to start the bidding process over, but that could delay completion, county officials said. The pool usually opens the first Saturday in June.
Jade’s Dog Park, another popular feature at Alameda Park, will be closed for maintenance work for six weeks — from April 1 to May 24.
The commissioners approved the closure to make improvements, repair fencing, and aerate and seed the lawn in and around the park. The parks and recreation advisory review committee recommended the closure.
Lance Welliver, director of county parks and recreation, said the dog park ground is saturated and ponds have formed, a damaged fence is preventing the gate from closing properly, agility equipment has been pulled out of the ground, and grass around the park has been damaged.
At the committee meeting last week, Welliver said dogs are allowed in Alameda Park as long as they are kept on a leash.
In addition, the commissioners awarded nearly $90,000 from the local park renovation grant program to 12 municipalities from a pool of 26 applications based on recommendations from the review committee.
Buffalo, Center, Cranberry, Fairview, Forward and Penn townships as well as Karns City, Petrolia, Saxonburg, Slippery Rock and Zelienople boroughs were awarded $7,500 grants for park projects, and Evans City received a $7,252 grant. The total award is $89,752.
Welliver said municipalities that never received or applied for park renovations grants in the past were encouraged to apply, and those that applied were given favor over municipalities that have received funding.
The commissioners approved $10,000 payments for designing playground improvement projects in Harmony and Connoquenessing. The payments go to Gannett Flemming Inc., which is the engineering firm for both boroughs, to design the projects that are being funded by grants from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Applications to the DCNR for two other projects also were approved.
Commissioners agreed to submit a grant application to help pay for the Butler County Comprehensive Recreation, Park and Open Space Plan; Greenways and Trails Plan; and Alameda Park Master Plan.
The second application is for a grant for the Diamond Park rehabilitation and renovation project.
