Depot Park Tennis Court Redesign Bid – Park Rapids Enterprise

On October 25, the Park Rapids City Council approved the modified design and specifications for the Depot Park Tennis Court Reconstruction Project.

In a resolution passed as part of their consent program, council members authorized staff to receive bids for the project, which will open Dec. 6 and be considered by council Dec. 13.

Contacted later for comment, City Engineer Jon Olson of Apex Engineering Group said the redesign includes two pavement options: reinforced concrete and asphalt.

“These two options will be submitted separately for consideration by the city,” Olson said, noting that the courts’ existing surface is asphalt. “It’s working well, but there are definitely benefits with concrete, and there’s hope that we can do concrete within the budget of the association (Park Rapids Tennis) and the city.”

Olson said bidders will have the option to bid for either or both pavement types.

“Our original design was for post-tensioned concrete, which is a very, very impressive installation,” he said. “Unfortunately, there just aren’t too many contractors, particularly in the area, doing this kind of specialized work. Whenever we limit a pool of bidders like this, we are likely to impose higher bid prices on ourselves. »

Olson said that’s what happened earlier this year, when bids for the post-tensioned concrete design came in well above the engineering estimate. “We had to go back to the drawing board,” he said, adding that the more traditional concrete and asphalt options open up a wider pool of local contractors and help keep project costs down.

The city council had rejected all bids on the previous design on June 28.

City Council also approved a side yard setback and land cover gap for Michael Currie to build a detached garage at 300 Main Ave. NOT.

City planner Ben Oleson noted that Currie initially requested, then withdrew, a waiver to locate the garage within the required setback from the street and an alley.

He said Currie then brought in a revised plan eliminating the need for those gaps by moving the proposed garage to the north side of the property, where it would meet setback requirements from streets and lanes. However, the revised proposal would not meet the required side yard setback to the north.

In addition, Oleson said, either plan would exceed the 30 percent coverage allowed by city code, with the proposed garage bringing coverage to about 31.5 percent.

Oleson said the planning commission recommended approval of the variance under four conditions:

• Locate the garage no closer to the north lot line than the existing dwelling (approximately 2 feet).
• Limit impermeable coverage to 31.5%.
• Installation of a gutter and downspout on the north side of the garage to direct water away from the neighboring property.
• Provide written proof of the neighbor’s consent. “Before issuing a permit to build the garage, we would need that in place,” Oleson explained.

Board member Erika Randall presented a motion to approve the waiver, and it passed unanimously.