A project review committee and Pine Bluff City Council committee have recommended a list of engineers, project costs and professional fees associated with several of the tax-funded capital improvement projects for which the city issued bonds in fall 2011, in one of a few remaining steps required to start construction on the projects.
The projects are the renovation of fire stations No. 2 (2120 W. Pullen Ave.) and No. 6 (1805 Moreland St.); the replacement of fire station No. 3 (3000 Ash St.); the extension of the Lake Saracen Walking Trail; construction of a fishing pier at Brumps Bayou; construction of a splash pad near Lake Saracen along West Pullen Avenue; updates to the lighting at the Townsend Par ball fields; and construction of a restroom/concession stand building at Townsend Park.
Unless there are unanticipated issues, the projects associated with the Parks and Recreation Department will likely get started within a month, department Director Angela Parker said during a City Council Public Works Committee meeting Friday. The committee voted to give a do-pass recommendation to the proposed resolution that outlines the recommendations and forward the proposal to the full council, which is scheduled to review it in its meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers at the civic complex.
The proposed resolution came to the aldermen from an eight-member committee made up of city staff who reviewed the proposals from the engineering firms the city received in response to its advertised request for qualifications, said Larry Matthews, city public works coordinator. The members scored and ranked the firms on their proposals.
“We have sat down and talked with each individual firm that was selected,” Matthews said. “Based on our analysis of construction costs and all of the services involved with each project, we have developed a not-to-exceed contract amount for each firm.”
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Those amounts are included in the proposed resolution to be voted on by the council.
The proposed resolution includes the following details for each project:
• Fire Station No. 2 renovation — Reed Architectural Firm of Pine Bluff, $271,000 expected cost of construction and $21,680 maximum professional fee allowed.
• Fire Station No. 6 renovation — Reed Architectural Firm of Pine Bluff, $292,000 expected cost of construction and $23,360 maximum professional fee allowed.
• Fire Station No. 3 replacement — A.W. Nelson Architectural Firm of Pine Bluff, $2.17 million expected cost of construction and $141,050 maximum fee allowed.
• Lake Saracen Walking Trail extension — McClelland Consulting Engineers Inc. of Little Rock, $157,000 expected cost of construction with $125,000 of that coming from a state grant and a to-be-determined hourly rate for service because the plans for the project have not yet been drawn up so the full extent of the services could not be estimated. The compensation cost will come from bond issue funds.
• Brumps Bayou fishing pier construction — McClelland Consulting Engineers Inc. of Little Rock, $100,000 expected cost of construction provided entirely by a state grant and a to-be-determined hourly rate for service that will be paid from bond issue funds.
• Splash park construction — ETC Engineers and Architects Inc. of Little Rock, $329,000 expected cost of construction and $24,026 maximum fee allowed.
• Townsend Park ball fields lighting upgrades — ETC Engineers and Architects Inc. of Little Rock, $105,000 expected cost of construction and $7,455 maximum fee allowed.
• Townsend Park restroom/concession stand construction — ETC Engineers and Architects Inc. of Little Rock, $127,500 expected cost of project and $10,200 maximum fee allowed.
The Parks Department also has about $435,000 in state grants that it can apply to the splash park and ball field lighting projects.
The projects are associated with the five-eighth-cent sales tax initiative that was approved by voters in February 2011. The city issued the first group of bonds in October 2011 and has three years from that date to complete the first group of projects, which total $9 million and include equipment and projects for the fire, police, street and parks departments.
Prior to the group of projects included in the proposed resolution, the other expenditures so far from the tax money have been for things like equipment, street overlays, new fire trucks and police cars. This is the first group of more visible, brick-and-mortar projects to move toward a starting construction date.
Future projects include a multipurpose recreation center, a new animal shelter and a relocated and remodeled police headquarters building.