04-02-2018 Council Work Session Packet

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WS – Item 11 WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT Work Session Item No. 11 Date: April 2, 2018 To: City Council From: Rick DeGardner, Public Services Director Re: Birch Park Playground Project Proposal Background As mentioned during the February 5 work session, staff has included the replacement of the Birch Park playground equipment as part of the Park Board’s 2018 Parks and Trails Capital Projects recommendation that will be presented at next month’s work session. This particular capital project is more complex than a typical playground equipment replacement project. Staff is recommending relocating the playground area adjacent to the park shelter. The existing large playground structure is located in the lowest area of the park, often resulting in wet conditions. Placing the engineered wood fiber in a low area may create soggy conditions and will degrade quickly. While installing the new playground equipment adjacent to the park shelter is a more suitable location for park layout, visibility, and drainage, the new location is more challenging due to the space constraints, elevation changes (ie. two tiered playground), and existing trees. These factors create some design challenges that will take extra effort to ensure a successful project. Therefore, staff is recommending entering into a contract with Northland Recreation, Inc. to provide the design and equipment for the Birch Park Playground Project via the National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA). Staff worked with Northland Recreation, Inc. during our most recent park improvement project at NorthPointe Park (playground equipment and park shelter). NJPA is a public corporation serving as a municipal contracting agency for government and education agencies. NJPA serves member agencies under the legislative authority established and granted by Minnesota Statute 123A.21. The NJPA creates national cooperative contract purchasing solutions on behalf of its member agencies which include all government, education, and non-profit agencies nationwide and in Canada. These cooperative contract opportunities offer both time and money savings for their users by consolidating the efforts of numerous individually prepared solicitations to one national, cooperatively shared process. This process leverages the aggregation of volume from members nationwide. All NJPA contracts have been competitively solicited nationally, reviewed, evaluated by committee and recommended to the NJPA Board of Directors for award in accordance with Minnesota public purchasing and contracting