Tupelo moves ahead with Ballard Park upgrades
Jan. 24—TUPELO — The Tupelo City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a $944,482 contract with James A. Hodges Construction for the first of multiple upgrades to Ballard Park, including the installation of Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant playground equipment, a new parking lot and entrance upgrades.
The Saltillo-based company was the lowest of the three bidders by about $200,000 at $886,020, with an alternative addition of $58,462. Project Manager Neal McCoy said that because the base bid was lower than the estimated cost of the project, it allowed for the city to accept the alternate.
Phase I of the multiphase project comprises the construction of a new parking lot, which will have close to 100 open spots and 10 disability parking spots. The lot will follow a crescent shape where the new ADA-compliant park will eventually be constructed. It also includes rebuilding the entrance to the park to include a "boulevard" style, meaning a median will separate the two lines of traffic in and out of the park.
The city received $1 million in state bond monies over the past two legislative sessions to fund the project. McCoy said Wednesday that the city is unlikely to request more funding from the state in the upcoming legislative session, adding that officials believe the funding it previously received should cover the bulk of the project.
The project's second phase second phase will see the installation of the playground equipment, along with a pavilion and new restrooms, and Phase III will include the construction of terraced seating for the amphitheater, stabilization of the banks at the lake and updating the lighting around the walking track.
The council also approved the contract for the project, setting up work to begin sooner rather than later. Tupelo Mayor Todd Jordan noted that tree-clearing for the new parking lot will begin soon. Jordan said most of the pine trees were "beyond their life expectancy." McCoy said only the softwood trees will be removed, and the city will save the hardwood trees in the area.
McCoy said once the trees are removed, contractors will begin construction of the parking lot. In the meantime, the city is preparing for Phase II of the project, which McCoy said will come through a request for proposal process rather than a traditional bid.
"We are going to do the playground equipment through an RFQ process. It is hard to go apples to apples (with equipment)," he said, noting that the request will go out in the next 30 to 45 days, with the council deciding on a company in March.
The existing equipment, McCoy noted, will be removed upon the installation of the new playground, adding that the equipment was at the end of its lifecycle, so the city will not move it to a new location.
The city plans to complete phases I and II during the current fiscal year, McCoy said, dubbing both phases "high priority." Phase III, meanwhile, is lower on the priority list.