Council member John Keating acted as mayor pro tem for the meeting as Mayor Jeff Cheney was not present, making it a 5-0 approval.
The approach
Rejecting the bids for the 164-acre park came at the recommendation of city staff.
“We're asking you to consider and act upon rejection of all bids best validated for Northwest Community Park,” Parks and Recreation Director Shannon Coates said during a Dec. 5 work session presentation.
Instead of accepting a bid now, city staff will use council’s feedback on a few options to generate a larger list of bid alternates going forward, Coates said.
The three options presented to council were:
- Build the park using the $29 million Frisco Community Development Corporation-approved construction budget
- Use additional CDC funding to increase the construction budget to $40 million
- Construct the park in multiple phases
The Frisco Community Development Corporation is the primary funding source for the parks and recreation department, drawing funds from a portion of the city’s sales tax revenue.
Estimated project costs for Northwest Community Park are at $50.9 million, according to a meeting presentation.
“[The CDC has] traditionally funded the community parks in phases with each phase being allocated about $15 million,” Coates said.
Limiting construction to $29 million would mean reducing or removing several of the park’s custom amenities, such as the dog park, sensory play elements, a bicycle shade structure, a splash pad, a prairie lookout structure and more, according to a meeting presentation.
Constructing Northwest Community Park in multiple phases would likely bring in additional design costs, Coates said.
Bringing in additional CDC funding, which council members at the meeting stated they liked best of the three options, would still reduce or remove some amenities, Coates said.
It would also delay the B.F. Phillips Park and Northeast Community Park projects to get the additional $21 million, Coates said.
“There are so many different options,” she said.
What they’re saying
Building the park through multiple phases is not a feasible option, council member Angelia Pelham said.
“We don't want to just throw money and have a sparse park,” Pelham said. “It would not compare with any of the other parks that we have today.”
Any money saved before sending the project back out to bid should be reinvested back into Frisco’s biking community, council member Bill Woodard said.
Going forward
City staff will be able to send Northwest Community Park back out to bid in early 2024 using the feedback gathered from council, Coates said.
Construction on the park is still expected to break ground in mid-2024.
