HKGi Memorandum Prairie Park Ballfields 4.1
HKGi | 800 Washington Ave. N., Suite 103 | Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401
(612) 338-0800 | www.hkgi.com
Creating Places that Enrich People’s Lives
Hoisington Koegler Group Inc.
MEMORANDUM
TO: Nick Jacobs, Parks and Recreation Director, City of Otsego FROM: Kevin Clarke, Project Planner, and Amy Bower, PLA, Landscape
Architect, HKGi DATE: September 6, 2022
RE: Prairie Park Ballfields Bidding
Summary
The Prairie Park Ballfields project received only one bid and it was well over the identified budget. We recommend rejecting the bid. The project should benefit from re-bidding in early
2023 as a late summer/fall 2023 construction project.
Project Background
The ballfields at Prairie Park are identified by the City for short term improvement in the Parks and Recreation System Master Plan, and in the City Budget.
Throughout 2021, the City held listening sessions and meetings with the Parks and Recreation
Commission and representatives from the softball and baseball associations to discuss improvements and issues with the ballfields.
Based on these conversations, a design was developed to:
• Replace 4 aging, undersized backstops with taller and longer backstops to provide
additional protection to spectators and players
• Add roofs to 8 dugouts to provide shade for players and coaches
• Add four pathways to provide accessible connections to the spectator areas
• Build batting cages (Alternate)
• Provide screening at the portable toilets (Alternate)
An estimate for the completion of this work was developed using pricing from other 2022 ballfield projects and conversations with contractors. The estimate for the base project was
$331,519 with an additional 15% contingency ($49,728) for a total of $381,247. The City had identified a budget of $400,000 for the project, some of which may have gone to alternates or
additional electrical work on a separate contract.
Prairie Park Ballfields Bidding – 09/06/2022
2
September 1, 2022 Bid Opening
The Prairie Park Ballfields project bids were due at 2:00 PM on September 1, 2022 and opened
immediately afterwards. There was one bid provided by G Urban Companies. The bid was for $645,945.00 for the base bid, with alternates to:
• Add new fencing and concrete to the dugouts for an additional $108,056.00
• Add a batting cage system for an additional $48,000.00
• Add a batting cage ag-lime surface for an additional $10,000.00
• Reduce the size of the backstops from 30’ to 24’ for a savings of $80,000.00
• Add a wood enclosure around the portable toilets for an additional $20,000.00
The sole bid was well above the construction estimate, and the budget approved by the City.
We have followed up with the other plan holders who chose not to bid in order to better understand their decisions not to bid on the project. Identified concerns included:
• Volatile and very high pricing on materials, particularly steel
• Lack of labor available/too busy to complete the project in a satisfactory manner in the
identified timeframe
Recommendation
We recommend rejecting the bid that was opened on September 1, 2022 for a base price of $645,945.00 and all alternates.
We recommend continuing to monitor the pricing environment for a likely re-bidding of this project in early 2023. The project could proceed with a start date in August of 2023 after the
completion of the baseball/softball summer seasons. This should provide a more competitive bidding environment when contractors have more lead time and can better align their
availability with the project.