Kelly Barkley, MetroParks senior manager of community relations, said the project is being enabled by a $1 million partnership with UC Health West Chester Hospital and a $500,000 capital grant from the state of Ohio awarded on the basis of the project to serving as a positive economic driver for the region. The $3.1 million project includes $1.3 million for the structure and $1.8 million for various site improvements, she said.
The 3,400-square foot building will include restrooms, concessions, UC Health trainer’s room, UC Health trainer’s office, and a press box. The site will feature a 1-acre great lawn, a 3,500 square-foot outdoor viewing terrace, and more than 400 new paved parking spaces as well as the basic utilities and other amenities to support the structure, she said.
She said site work on the new fieldhouse will begin as soon as possible with the targeted goal to open the structure still occurring this fall.
Barkley said the Request for Proposals that were sent to Conger Construction, as well as the other two companies, Megen Construction and Trunbull-Wahlert Construction, required a detailed project-specific technical proposal along with a guaranteed maximum price proposal.
Barkley said state law requires MetroParks to award the contract to the firm that provides the “best value.” The best value selection was based on 60 percent of the technical proposal evaluation and 40 percent on the guaranteed maximum price. She said the technical proposal scores are based on the reviews of the evaluation committee, and the GMP proposal scores are based on a formula prescribed by the Ohio Administrative Code.
“Based on the scores, the Board of Park Commissioners moved to award the design build contract to Conger Construction Group, Inc.,” she said. “Because all three of the short-listed firms proposals exceeded the project budget, MetroParks Management Team recommended not to execute a Guaranteed Maximum Price Amendment to the Design Build Contract at this time.”
Barkley said that was the reason why the initial contract approved by the Board of Park Commissioners will be for pre-construction services only, was part of an effort to work with the selected firm to right-size the project scope to stay within budget while still achieving the goals of the overall sponsorship and functionality of the structure.
“This is a very responsible way for MetroParks to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to the organization,” she said.
Barkley said the MetroParks management team will need to get the approval of the Board of Park Commissioners later in the process for the GMP for the site work, and for the GMP for the fieldhouse structure.
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