South Windsor Skate Park Clears One More Hurdle

Baby steps.

The long-discussed South Windsor skate park inched closer to becoming a reality on Monday evening when the Town Council, by an 8-1 vote, waived the competitive bidding process for the $95,000 project.

The American Ramp, of Joplin, Mo., will perform the pre-cast concrete work, according to Director of Parks & Recreation Ray Favreau.

Local contractors will then construct the project when the concrete is shipped to South Windsor, Favreau said.

“We’re a step closer,” Favreau said of the park, which will be built in between My Friend’s Place and the upper baseball field at Nevers Park.

Favreau said that the waiving of the competitive bid process will enable the town to take advantage of some cost savings as well as get the project built by the end of the summer.

Much of the council’s discussion centered on the scope of the project. A resolution passed by the council last year called for a $95,000 skate park.

But the resolution first considered on Monday evening contained a paragraph that stated that the park would be 20,000 square feet at a cost of $258,000, with Phase I being the $95,000 park, known as the “Skate Spot.”

Favreau said that if the council were to approve the $258,000 park in its entirety, it would save about $42,000 in the long run.

But Councilor Keith Yagaloff balked at that paragraph, stating “[w]e never discussed funding a larger park for $250,000.”

Councilor Cary Prague agreed, saying that he wanted to see if skaters and bikers would use the facility first before any thoughts of expansion.

“If it’s hugely successful, I’ll support [an expansion] in a year or two years,” Prague said.

Councilor Dr. Saud Anwar went a step further in objecting to the resolution.

“I don’t know how it became $258,000,” Anwar said.

Favreau said that the $258,000 figure did not come out of thin air, as a larger skate park has been in the Parks & Recreation Department’s Master Plan for years.

Still, Deputy Mayor Gary Bazzano, who presented the resolution, accepted a friendly amendment striking that paragraph.

Another paragraph containing language stating that the facility “can be phased in with Phase I construction of the skate park competitively quoted at a price of $95,000” survived a motion to strike it by a vote of 5-4.

“I don’t see a need to amend the resolution,” Councilor Kevin McCann said. “It’s clear that a Skate Spot is to be constructed. If it is popular, we can go ahead and expand upon that. If we just leave the resolution as it is, we get exactly what the council is looking for.”

After the amendment failed, the council passed the overall resolution by an 8-1 vote.

Anwar was the lone dissenting voter, saying that the competitive bidding process was a necessary check in the democratic process to ensure transparency. Waiving the competitive bidding process should not be taken lightly and should be only done “in a true emergency,” Anwar said.

Vendors, Anwar said, are “pushy” and will tell customers that things have to be done right away or the cost will go up.

But Favreau said that American Ramp was the only contractor in America that performed the type of work the town is asking for, while also offering a 15-year warranty. Most contractors would only provide a 1-year warranty.

Councilor Cindy Beaulieu, who backed waiving the competitive bidding process, said that it was being done carefully, and that the expert in the area - Favreau - was “coming to us with a better, stronger product.”

“Why wouldn’t you do that?” she asked rhetorically.

Favreau said that construction on the Skate Spot could begin as early as July, with its completion in August.