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The City of
Kodiak just received special permission from the State of Alaska to spend grant
money it hasn't actually received yet to complete both phases of upgrades at
Baranof Park.
In April,
the city and Ohno Construction of Seattle negotiated a lower bid price to come
within just a few dollars of the $3-million available. Because of budget
limitations the project was split into two phases, with only the first part
being scheduled for this year. That was the new track and artificial turf
football field. But with a sizable appropriation from the state legislature,
not only can the parts removed from phase 1 be put back, but all of phase 2 can
be done this year.
By doing
both at once, City Manager Aimee Kniaziowski says the project will actually
cost less.
-- (Baranof Park 1 29 sec "We got underway with phase ... save the city some
money.")
The list of
items that can now be done include new football goal posts, asphalt paving,
adding a "bear" logo to the field, and more artificial "field turf" behind the
end zones and on the infield of the baseball diamond.
-- (Baranof Park 2 20 sec "What's covered in the change ... that change order.")
While the
City of Kodiak owns Baranof Park, it is most extensively used by the schools,
which are under the Kodiak Island Borough, so the improvements are being funded
jointly by the two governments. At Thursday's meeting, City Councilman John
Whiddon wondered if the borough has come through with matching funds yet:
-- (Baranof Park 3 36 sec "Since we just went through ... some amendments to
that.")
Recognizing
that the funding was the work of Kodiak's powerful delegation to Juneau - Gary
Stevens is Senate President and Alan Austerman is House Majority Leader -
Councilman Terry Haines gave thanks where it was due:
-- (Baranof Park 4 11 sec "I just want to thank our ... it moved up to the front
burner.")
The
original contract price after items were removed in April was $2.97-million.
The change order is for over $1.5-million, bringing the total park renovation
up to $4.6-million. The state legislature actually granted the city $3-million,
which was $1.9-million more than the city requested. Kniaziowski said there has
been interest in divvying up the excess among park user groups, but she plans
to work with community and school representatives in identifying and reviewing needs
for funding.
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