By DAVE SCHULTZ
The Bluffton Board of Works Tuesday formally approved the contracts for the upgrades at Lancaster Park.
The board of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department met last Wednesday and reviewed the bids, recommending the lowest bid in each case — Coblentz Construction of Geneva for the pavilion, $210,600; Frauhiger Excavating of Bluffton for site development, $228,000; and Brooks Construction of Fort Wayne for paving, including a walking trail around the park.
In addition, MidStates Recreation will install playground equipment — two play structures, a spin toy, swing sets, a merry-go-round, and a tire swing — for $164,217.90. Sourcewell will provide a best price guarantee, said Brandy Fiechter, director of the Parks Department.
Fiechter said her department anticipates the start of construction at the park this spring, with substantial completion by Nov. 1 and a final completion date of Dec. 1.
The awarding of the Lancaster Park bids was one of several things discussed during Tuesday’s meeting. All three board members participated in the meeting; Mayor John Whicker and Josh Hunt were in the Council Chambers while Scott Mentzer attended online.
Other matters discussed during the meeting included:
• Steve Bracht, 615 Beth Ave., asked for and was granted additional time to clean up property he owns on the 700 block of South Marion Street. The Marion Street property adjoins his house.
• Kevin Kong of Invoice Cloud, which works with Frey Municipal Software, demonstrated to the board how his company provides online billing services.
• The hiring of two 911 dispatchers, Camarra Yates and Dallas Creager, received the board’s approval. They will be added to the staff in order, with Yates going first. Police Chief Kyle Randall, who recommended the two individuals be hired, said the dispatch staff will now be up to 10 individuals with five vacancies remaining.
• The only bid received for mowing was submitted by Dubach Landscaping of rural Bluffton. The standard bids ranged from $120 for a lot of up to 6,000 square feet to $220 for a one-acre lot.
daves@news-banner.com
