Three Bid for Water Park

Board Plans to Select Contractor for Project Next Week

Ray Cooney – Editor

The Commercial Review

Bids for the Portland Water Park project are in.

Portland Park Board on Thursday opened three bids for the project, which will replace the 55-year-old Portland Pool, with all of them coming in just under the $3.3 million engineer’s estimate. HWC Engineering will review the bids, and the park board tentatively set a meeting for 4 p.m. Thursday to choose a contractor.

The board also agreed to purchase a new lawnmower and discussed possible improvements at Portland Memorial Park.

RLTurner of Zionsville came in with the low bid for Portland Water Park at $3.21 million. MacDougall Pierce Construction of Fishers was next at $3.22 million, and Muhlenkamp Building Corporation of Coldwater, Ohio, followed at $3.296 million.

Each firm also gave an additional cost for an alternate — the addition of a second slide — with Muhlenkamp at $75,700, RLTurner at $77,000 and MacDougall Pierce at $78,500.

“We were hoping for something to come in under $3 million, but we weren’t sure what was out there,” said park board president Rod Ashman. “They’re all pretty close, which means they’re pretty competitive.

“I was scared that they might come in at $4 million, and we’d be out of business here. So I think we’re in business here, and we’ll be able to work with something here and go forward.”

Kyle Lueken of HWC Engineering will review the bids to make sure they meet specifications, and the board will then select a contractor.

Discussions for the new facility to replace Portland Pool, which has had a variety of maintenance problems, have been ongoing for more than two years. Portland City Council in May approved funding for 68.4 percent of the project up to $2.25 million, and a committee was formed to raise the remaining money.

The new facility will include a lap/competition pool, dump bucket, lily pad walk, slide and zero entry as well as new restrooms and a concession stand.

Park board member Donald Gillespie asked if equipment at the skate park located northeast of Portland Pool could be moved to Milton Miller Park before construction on the new facility begins. Street and parks superintendent Ryan Myers said he plans to do so.