At the July 26 Park Board meeting, the Board approved the purchase of playground equipment for Centennial Park. The Master Plan for the park was approved earlier this summer and staff intended to purchase equipment in October. However, equipment vendor Landscape Structures, announced an 8% increase in pricing effective the week of July 26, 2021. In light of this, staff recommended ordering equipment now, prior to the price increase.
The Park District will be using the Sourcewell cooperative contract to purchase the equipment. This cooperative allows public agencies to pool their purchasing through nationally solicited contracts, helping to save time and money compared to the traditional procurement methods. Sourcewell prepares bids, conducts a competitive sealed bidding process, and awards contracts for goods and services on behalf of public agencies. The District has utilized this service in the past for Salt Creek Park in 2019 and Butterfield Park in 2016.
Funds in the amount of $900,000 ($720,000 in 2021 and $180,000 in 2022) consisting of $800,000 received from the sale of The Abbey property to School District 205 along with $100,000 from cash and investments in the SRA Fund for recommended accessibility improvements are included in the 2021 Capital Plan for the development of Centennial Park.
