Bainbridge Island city council members grappled with the escalating costs of the city’s Eagle Harbor Waterfront Park last week.
The discussion came on the heels of the opening of bids for the construction of the project. The bid opening was March 22, and just one bid was received, from the Bainbridge-based firm of Redside Construction. Redside tendered a base bid of $1.6 million for the project — which was higher than the city’s estimate for the work, which pegged the cost between $1.1 million and $1.25 million.
That bid, if accepted, would cover the costs of clearing and grading at the park for improvements which include new paths, a plaza, sidewalks, lighting, stormwater rain gardens and other features.
An expanded bid — which included add-ons for other parts of the park improvement project, such as a picnic shelter that would cost almost $400,000 — came in at $2.1 million.
If the city wants to seriously rethink how it’s going to pay for the project, we can offer one obvious suggestion: cut the picnic pavilion.
The picnic pavilion is overdesigned and overpriced. While we think it may look pretty on paper, the pavilion as now planned will surely become a magnet for transients and vandals.
First, a note on the price tag for the 1,098-square-foot picnic pavilion. Early cost estimates for the pavilion — floor plans for the shelter show room for four small tables with 11 chairs and additional seating on built-in benches — put the cost at $368,434, with another $86,283 needed for the solar panels atop the pavilion.
The most recent estimate for that work totals $500,672.
A half million dollars for a picnic shelter?
We’re not the only ones to think the picnic pavilion is just too pricey.
Late last year, the city approached the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation for financial assistance on the picnic shelter.
While the foundation complimented the design of the shelter as “a beautiful structure,” the nonprofit said it could not devote any resources to the project.
“On an advisory note, we suggest that you consider the appropriateness of the picnic shelter design in the context of this park,” the foundation wrote in a letter to the city. “The materials noted in the design are susceptible to vandalism and will require a higher level of maintenance than should be required in a public park.”
The city should listen to the advice of the island’s own experts on park facilities and scuttle the picnic shelter as a first step in getting the project’s budget in line.
