Phase I-B involves the completion of the park and the installation of the gangway and transient dock, in addition to boater amenities such as fuel, power, sewer pump outs, and water. Base bids received for the project at the September 9 bid opening ranged from $8.35 to $8.90 million. The city has $5.15 in grant funding for the project.
Pederson said, “There has been a lot of time put into the examination of bids. Plus, there has been a lot of staff time spent looking at a range of options that exist.”
The four main options presented at this meeting with estimated project costs based on the recent bid amounts are as follows:
1. Move forward with the project as bid ($8.453 million—includes a fee for construction management);
2. Re-bid the project to finish only the park and none of the boating infrastructure components ($4.927 million);
3. Re-bid the project to complete the transient dock and boating infrastructure, but the park components including the rock, soil, grass, sidewalks, lighting, and revetment would not be completed ($3.83 million); or
4. Re-bid the project to complete the park, gangway, and only 100 feet of transient dock without amenities including fuel, utilities, sewer, and water ($6.288 million).
On options 2 and 4, the city would forfeit the Boating Infrastructure Grant. Out of the $5.15 million in total grant funding for the project, $910,000 (plus the required match of $320,000 for a total of $1.23 million) is incorporated in the grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which expires in September 2016. If the city decides not to pursue building the boating infrastructure, the city will forfeit the BIG grant and must return the funding.
Each of the four options has sub-options for a total of ten possible scenarios.
Much of the discussion involved the three deduction options to remove 60 feet of transient dock, remove the center railing from the dock, and remove the wave attenuator from under the dock. Those three items would reduce the current base bid to $7.91 million.
The board decided to continue the project discussion next week with the awareness that a decision needs to be made soon, since the bids will be valid only through November 6.
Pederson did provide information about possible financing for the project. He said the city had projected starting in the next fiscal year to issue a bond for the renovation of the former Executive Inn Showroom, with an anticipated annual bond payment of approximately $250,000. That payment amount would be enough to cover a bond to complete Phase I-B as designed if the city decided not to renovate the Showroom.
Pederson also added that discussions are underway with the county to use a portion of the transient room tax, also known as the bed tax, to fund the relocation of the pavilion.
PRDA Chairman Bruce Brockenborough attended the meeting in support of the project. At PRDA’s September 23 meeting, members unanimously approved a motion to request the commissioners to move forward with Phase I-B as proposed and bid.
Brockenborough said, “Anything less than option 1 is not a real project. We are talking about a strategy that is building regional tourism. There is a certain element of 'if you build it, they will come.' ”
* In other action, the Paducah Board of Commissioners introduced an ordinance for the purchase of approximately 4.8 acres of vacant real estate located at 619 North 6th Street. The land, currently owned by P&L Railway, was appraised this year for $315,000. P&L has agreed to sell the property for $295,000.
The property would be the new site for the dome pavilion since the pavilion’s previous location is now the site for the planned Holiday Inn Paducah Riverfront. City manager Jeff Pederson said the pavilion is being relocated “so that it can continue to provide convention capacity for the community for another ten years.”
