The Lebanon City Council on July 23 approved a contract award for preconstruction-phase services for the Cheetah Lake Park improvement project, issuing a notice of intent to award to Knife River and authorizing preconstruction services estimated at about $34,000.

City Manager Ron told the council the city sought CMGC (construction manager / general contractor) delivery and received six proposals; Knife River and Emery and Sons scored highest. “The top score of the, proposals was Knife River. And it was very close between them and Emery and Sons. We have issued notice of intent to award to Knife River for the preconstruction phase services, which is about $34,000,” the city manager said.

The preconstruction phase will include cost estimating and value engineering; a later guaranteed maximum price (GMP) contract for construction would return to council for approval. The latest project cost estimate presented by staff is about $7 million to $7.5 million; available funding is between roughly $5.5 million and $6 million, leaving a funding gap staff said they will attempt to close through value engineering and other measures. The city manager said, “We can bring them in. They can give us ideas, and we can scope the project to fit within the dollars that we have.”

During council discussion a councilor noted a hiring preference by Knife River for local residents; the city attorney reminded the council that local hiring preference is not a lawful factor in awarding contracts and that the award should be based on the proposal and contractor ability. The council then moved to approve Knife River for preconstruction services; the motion passed on a voice vote.

Staff provided a brief funding breakdown during discussion: about $2.2 million (quoted as “2.2 or $2,300,000”) remains from a prior “Christmas tree bill” appropriation, the city has a $1,000,000 large government grant, and the remainder would come from park system development charges.

Next steps: execute the preconstruction agreement with Knife River, proceed with cost estimating and value engineering, and return to council with a GMP for construction when available.