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$80,000 trimmed from memorial park plan
(by Sue Reid - April 02, 2009)
$80,000 trimmed from memorial park plan
By SUE REID
Reductions in costs for Solon's veterans memorial park project were presented to City Council's safety and public properties committee during a special meeting Monday.
Planner Jeffrey Markley, of Landesign, detailed nearly $80,000 in reductions, taking the site-improvement costs from the original estimate of approximately $765,000 to $686,000.
As a result, the committee approved two separate motions to prepare legislation to go out for bid for general park improvements and for a contract to supply and install a fountain in the park.
Mr. Markley, who has been working with the city for the past 1 1/2 years on the final version of the park project, presented the committee with the reductions. He said the major elements of the project have been designed, and engineering is complete, but that does not preclude "sharpening the pencil as I was asked to do." He said the reductions will not compromise the operational efficiency of the park.
The design of the park was modified slightly, Mr. Markley said, and the biggest reduction was made in relation to the seven granite memorials. They are being reduced in height from 5 feet, 6 inches to 4 feet 6 inches. That will not impact the design or visibility of the memorials, he said. The savings is in the range of $35,000 to $45,000, he said, noting the high cost of granite.
Other changes made to lower the overall project include reducing the number of decorative lampposts from 15 to seven and the removal of some sections of fencing. "Going from estimates to more quantified estimates resulted in savings," he said.
Mr. Markley also recommended the use of more efficient lighting throughout the park. Wherever possible, he said, light-emitting diode should be used, which has a longer lifetime, lower energy consumption and is a smaller size. While that type of lighting has higher upfront costs, he said, in the long run, it will result in more savings.
Councilman and committee member Edward H. Kraus commended Mr. Markley for getting into the details of the project to find the reductions. In addition, the LED lighting is the "future of our community," he said, because it is cost-effective in the long run. "Things like that will make it a long-term project that we could be proud of in our community," he said.
Mr. Markley said the veterans memorial park is as much of a pedestrian park as it is for motorists who view it on SOM Center (Route 91) and Bainbridge roads.
The project has been in the works since 2001, and an anticipated completion is this Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
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