Construction bids exceed funding
New ballfields south of Twisp Municipal Airport will not be built as planned this year.
A second round of construction bids on the sports complex yielded the same result as the first. Only one contractor responded both times, with the lone bid exceeding the town’s project budget.
The second bid, received in late May, exceeded available funds by $64,442, Public Works Director Andrew Denham said. The project’s cost was to be covered by a $450,000 state Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grant, plus $50,000 in town funds.
The RCO grant included a requirement that the town complete the work this year. Denham said the Public Works Department had heard informally that the grant could be extended.
Construction of a soccer field and baseball/softball field is now scheduled for next year, Denham said. The town will seek private donations to help cover project costs.
During a presentation to the Town Council in March, sports complex architect Robert Droll said $500,000 was a tight budget for the project, and volunteer labor could be solicited to reduce costs.
The town will request construction bids for a third time in January, which should attract more bidders and lower bids, Denham said.
“We were late in the season to get a bid that was going to be competitive” this year, he said.
The sports complex site, an all-purpose field immediately south of the airport, had been left unmanaged this year in anticipation of construction. Last week, the town’s public works crew started to mow and water the field, in preparation for organized soccer in the fall.
Future phases of the sports complex – for now unfunded – may include another baseball/softball field, another soccer field, a tennis court, a half-basketball court, a playground, a concession stand and restrooms.
