Depot Park gazebo bids come in double estimated budget

Whitefish City Council voted to reject two bids for the construction of a gazebo in Depot Park.

The city received two bids for the gazebo with the lowest bid coming in $100,000 more than is available in the budget for the project. The city had committed about $135,000 to the project with most of that in tax increment funds and the rest coming from a $15,000 in grant monies from the Whitefish Rotary.

“The bids came is significantly higher than the funds available,” Parks and Recreation Director Maria Butts said. “The Park Board does not want to move forward if the bids are over budget.”

The lowest bid came from Frontier Builders of Montana, LLC at a total of $243,600. The second bid from Davidson Construction totaled $342,000, which is $220,000 more than TIF funds available.

The conceptual design for the gazebo shows a 30-foot structure to be located in the southeastern portion of Depot Park near the library. It was designed to be Americans with Disabilities Act accessible with electrical outlets and lighting.

The city contracted with Robert Peccia and Associates for design services on the project and was provided a construction cost estimate of $126,800.

Councilor and Park Board member Frank Sweeney expressed his dismay that the bids came in so much higher than the estimate.

“I can’t not express how frustrated the Park Board is,” he said. “We hire consultants to bring us assurances that the project will be on budget and that was missed by half. That has happened more than once and we need to examine the quality of the expertise we’re getting.”

The Park Board has asked city staff to seek out prefabricated gazebo designs and obtain cost estimates for grading the round and concrete pad for the placement of a gazebo.

Butts said the goal is to now keep the project under $80,000 in cost so it will not have to go through the bid process.