Park Board OKs Paul Dennis parking lot work, Moorman Road resurfacing, Johnson Park playground and other projects — all under budget

QUINCY — The Quincy Park Board saved $158,115 against previously budgeted costs in voting to approve seven projects to be completed this summer.

The board, minus Patty McGlothlin (who was ill), voted Wednesday night to spend $295,000 for milling and resurfacing work on the parking lot in the Paul Dennis Soccer Complex and $19,495 to replace a culvert leading into the parking lot.

The culvert leading into the parking lot has failed and must be replaced before the milling and resurfacing of the parking lot. Fessler Construction submitted the lowest of four bids. The Park District had budgeted $100,000 from its corporate reserves/capital development fund for the project. Frericks said he’s waiting for approval from Ameren Illinois. The culvert falls on the power company’s easement.

The Paul Dennis parking lot had not been resurfaced since the mid-1990s. Diamond Construction’s bid of $295,000 was the only bid submitted, but $300,000 had been budgeted from the corporate reserves/capital development fund for the project.

Work on the culvert replacement is scheduled to be completed by June 1. Work on the parking lot is scheduled to be complete by Sept. 1. However, Executive Director Rome Frericks cautioned not to expect to begin using the fields that quickly.

“We have to go out there to find out if we have water,” he said. “We don’t know if there are pipes broken and where they might be.”

The board voted to spend $30,995 on a playground to be installed near the shelter house at Johnson Park. Play Power LT, Inc., based in North Carolina, had the lowest bid out of six submitted, and the Park District had budgeted $37,000 for this equipment to be paid for from bond funds. 

“Our staff installs them,” Frericks said. “That way we get more bang for the buck.”

“It is really neat looking,” Commissioner Barb Holthaus said of the playground. “It’s nice to have a variety of different options.”

Frericks said after the meeting the Johnson Park playground will be ordered Thursday, and he expects it to arrive in 10 weeks. However, Frericks said Park District employees must first install a playground that the Park Board approved a year ago but took 20 weeks to be delivered to Quincy. He expects the Johnson Park playground to be installed this fall.

The Park Board also voted to spend $208,000 for the milling and resurfacing of the Moorman Park road that leads to the two new turf baseball/softball fields. The road has not been resurfaced since the mid-1990s. An additional 300-foot by 10-foot stretch near the intersection of 39th Street in the Wavering/Moorman complex also will be milled and resurfaced because of cracks in the road and the installation of a water valve to isolate the new turf fields. 

Diamond Construction made the only bid, and the Park District had budgeted $225,000 from the general obligation bond for the project.

Also approved on Wednesday was spending $13,215.07 to do what Matt Higley, director of parks, called “preventive maintenance” on the Bill Klingner Trail from Parker Heights to 24th Street and to the Bob Mays shelter. The work will include filling cracks on the asphalt and seal coating the asphalt sections. 

Miller Construction had the lowest of three bids submitted. The Park District had budgeted $35,000 from the 2024 general obligation bond.

“Anything that’s asphalt will be sealed, and then the entire trail will be striped again,” Higley said. “Everything will look fresh.”

Frericks said afterward the trail will always remain open because crews will work at night.

“They’re going to bring in trucks and block off Bonansinga (Drive) so no one walks in,” he said. “They’re going to put them on Fifth so no one walks in, and they’re going to put them on 18^th and on Quintron Way and 24^thStreet. They’re bringing lights in, and they’re going to get the whole thing done in one night. They’ll get it color-coated in one night, and they’ll come back, and they can paint. And throw that stuff in line the city does. You’ll be able to drive over it right away. 

“When we showed (Miller Construction) this, it was a nice day and there were like 400 people on the trail. They were like, ‘Can we do this at night?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, we want you to do it at night.’”

Marcelo Beroiza, director of marketing/operations, told the commissioners that 143,000 park patrons have walked on the trail that goes over the 16^th Street bridge in 2023 — an increase of more than 20,000 from 2022.

The Park Board also:

• Voted to accept a $40,000 bid from Derhake Construction to repair the wood and framing on the Reservoir Park Shelter house ceiling. Damage was caused by rot, loss of paint and vandalism. The Park District had budgeted $75,000 to come out of 2024 general obligation bonds for the project.
• Voted to accept a $45,980 bid from Chris McDonald General Construction to repair east side gutters, brackets, wood and framing at the Lorenzo Bull house. Damage was caused by weather, rot and loss of paint. McDonald also did porch repairs on the home last year. The Park District had budgeted $45,000 to come from the Museum Fund for the project. Commissioner John Frankenhoff said the money in the Museum Fund is restricted fund and can only be spent on a limited number of things — with the Bull house being one of them.
• Voted to spend $500 per hour with Canton Marine Towing Co. to perform annual maintenance dredging at Art Keller Marina and Kesler Park boat ramps, beginning May 1. The Park Board had previously authorized $35,000 for dredging in the 2024 budget. 
• Agreed to allow the Friends of the Castle to sublease space in Villa Kathrine to the Quincy Area Convention and Visitors Bureau for $500 a month.
• Learned from Mike Bruns, director of program services, that 835 players signed up for the spring soccer league and will be divided into 70 teams. He also said the Batting Cage in Upper Moorman Park will be open beginning March 29.
• Learned from Brian Earnest, director of business services, that the Park District had expected PPRT (Personal Property Replacement Tax) money this year to be at about 60 percent of what it received last year. Earnest said the first payment in January came in at 59 percent of last year’s figure, and the second payment in March came in at 70 percent. “We have no way of knowing what’s coming,” Earnest said. “It’s impossible to tell what the final number is going to be throughout the year, but we’re in good shape, regardless of what happens, as long as it’s within the realm of what we expect.”
• Learned from David Morgan, director of golf, that VM Golf Services will begin irrigation installation at Westview Golf Course on April 1.

In all, the Park Board spent about 25 minutes to approve $653,885 for the seven projects — not including the dredging work. That cost won’t be known until later this summer. The commissioners did not discuss what to do with the money saved during Wednesday’s meeting.

“Meetings like this can go pretty fast when all the projects come in under budget,” Frericks said afterward with a grin.