There will be no kick flips, ollies, or grinds at Holley Park in La Center this year.
The city’s council rejected a construction bid Wednesday night that would have added a skate spot, spray park and an expanded playground area to the existing park. The reason: its prohibitive cost, officials said.
The lone bid from Colf Construction came in more than $188,000 higher than the city’s approved construction budget of $370,000.
The city’s staff hopes to bring the project back up for bids in spring 2013. That’s assuming the city has money for the project in its 2013 budget, said Public Works Director Jeff Sarvis, noting there was no present reason to think it wouldn’t.
Though the additions won’t happen this summer the news is not all bad, Mayor Pro-Tem Al Luiz noted.
The park’s upgrades would take about 75 days to be completed. That means the skate park would not have been available for use until late 2012 had the council accepted the bid. By that time, the weather would have started to turn colder and wetter.
“Even if we started construction at this point it would be built in the winter and would be underutilized,” Luiz said.
Revisiting the bids in spring, Luiz said, meant the city could possibly upgrade the park in time for the summer 2013 when the park’s use would be at its peak.
The wait also offers a possible financial plus, too.
La Center sought bids this year at a time when most contractors had already lined up their projects, Sarvis said. Going out to bid in early 2013 could lead to more competitive bids, he added, because contractors will be looking to line up projects for summer.
Ray Legendre: 360-735-4517; www.facebook.com/raylegend; www.twitter.com/col_smallcities; ray.legendre@columbian.com
