The Baldwin County Board of Commissioners awarded a nearly $1.2 million contract last week for improvements at the Harrisburg Park on the south side of the county.
At a called meeting Oct. 21, commissioners awarded a bid in the amount “not to exceed” $1,184,378 to Sam Hall & Sons for work on the streetscape project. The maximum figure represents Hall’s bid amount, but at least one deduction has already been authorized in an attempt to fund all goals of the grant approved by the state Office of Planning and Budget (OPB) the amount of $1,762,416.
“I recommend you delete all landscaping for the project,” County Manager Carlos Tobar told board members last week. “Staff will remove playground equipment. That will deduct $54,540 from the bid… By doing that,” Tobar explained, “we will have $499,578 remaining in the grant, and we have to get the playground equipment, community center building, and the basketball covering.”
Tobar said this past Tuesday afternoon that the existing community center building will be “rehabbed and remodeled” and converted into a public library, named in honor of the late Collins P. Lee. The current center will be moved into a new, “smaller, more compact” building as a part of the almost $500,000 left.
Tobar related that the biggest expense of the project covered by grant funds will be grading-related. He identified stormwater runoff issues as big concerns.
“There are a lot of storm drainage pipes to be included in here. A lot of stuff that needs to be corrected is going to be corrected with this grant,” he stressed. “Safety, ADA accessibility, and stormwater runoff. Those are the three big things that will be taken care of with this grant.”
According to the conceptual drawing, proposed improvements at the 15-acre park include more than 50 parking spaces on newly asphalted areas as well as sidewalks adjacent to a long stretch of Laverne Circle and from Harrisburg Road to what is currently the community center building.
Green space will be included in the final phase of work, and the new playground equipment will be put in once the grading is done, Tobar said. He also noted that the new sidewalks will tie into the walking trail that is already in the park.