ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The water park renovation project took a small step forward at the most recent Liberal City Commission Tuesday evening.

“As you all know, we solicited proposals for architectural and engineering services related to the outdoor water recreation facility project. The project has an anticipated construction value of approximately $6,500,000. Two proposals were received from qualified firms, both of which partnered with Waters Edge Aquatic Design for pool and aquatic facility design services,” Recreation Director Matt Quint began. “After reviewing the submitted proposals, we found both teams possess the qualifications necessary to successfully complete this project. With Hutton Construction/Waters Edge, the proposed architectural and engineering fee is $552,500, and that’s based on the anticipated construction value of $6,500,000. That includes architectural, engineering, and aquatic design services through project completion and 7.75 percent after cost of work. With LK Architecture/Waters Edge, the proposed architectural and engineering fee of $487,500 based on an anticipated construction value of $5,000,000. That includes architectural, engineering, and aquatic design services through project completion and 9.75 percent after cost of work. Both companies are working with Waters Edge, who we’ve worked with in the past, and they’re phenomenal to work with. Both companies are good and have done great projects in the past, which we looked at as part of our research.”

“I have to admit I’m slightly confused, because I thought we were going to pick a company and figure out what the consultation costs would be and then pick the designers later on,” Vice Mayor Janeth Vazquez said. “So why are we already getting costs for designs if we haven’t narrowed down what we want? We haven’t really decided the specifics of what we want within the park.”

“If you look at the LK Architecture bid, they included an hourly rate, so we are doing the design first and picking that firm,” Liberal Recreation Assistant Director Travis Martinez said. “Waters Edge is designing the park and all the features chosen and the firms are who will be contracting the actual work out. With the LK Architecture design, it’s the $487,500 plus an hourly rate as the design goes up based on what route the commission goes.”

Hutton Western Kansas Leader Andrew Fahrmeier then spoke to the commission about the project.

“Our design proposal is design and build. Hutton is a design-build firm, meaning we build things out for design and include separate information for the actual construction side of the project,” Fahrmeier said. “In terms of how we arrived at what we’ve proposed to the commission, we received the RFP from the City of Liberal and even the language in that talked about being in context of a construction budget of $5 million. The reason we chose to base our fees around $6.5 million is, prior to submitting the proposal, we did meet with City of Liberal leadership and talked about all the different potential features of the project, and we went from there to figure everything out. There are some fixed costs, but there are some adjustments that can be made, which would make some of the numbers change. One of our main goals right now is to come in, meet with city leadership, determine the scope of the project, and dial in that construction budget.”

After several more minutes of discussion,  the commission ultimately decided to table the item in order to seek clarification on fees and other costs.

In other new business, the commission unanimously voted to approve Resolution No. 2460, which allows the mayor, city manager, and grant administrator to apply for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant, which will be used to obtain grassland gear, and also unanimously approved a work order with Professional Engineering Consultants (PEC) for the development of a stormwater design standard for future development projects.

“There is currently a gap in the city’s regulations regarding stormwater design requirements for development projects. Historically, stormwater infrastructure has been designed based on the professional judgment of the project engineer, without established citywide standards,” Code Enforcement Director Keith Bridenstine said. “This agreement will assist us in developing and implementing standardized stormwater design criteria. These requirements will provide clear guidance on the level of stormwater infrastructure needed for various types of developments and will be codified in city regulations. Establishing these standards will ensure consistent, equitable, and transparent application of stormwater requirements across all developments within the city’s jurisdiction.”

To conclude the meeting’s new business, the commission unanimously approved  the construction of an off-street concrete parking lot to be located north of the McCray Park playground area, with materials to be funded through the 1-cent Sales Tax.