Dredging complete, riverside park plans may be hitting a snag

Millpond dredging was completed last week and clear waters provide spectacular scenery on the north side of the Main Street Bridge.

After a dredging process that began in early July, the cranes and equipment left Manchester’s mill pond, just north of the Main Street bridge, mid-week last week.

The completion of the dredging project clears the way for the construction phase of River Raisin Park.

But last week’s bid opening for River Raisin Park development created some surprises that might delay the onset of construction.

Prices projected by the engineering firm, SmithGroupJJR, were significantly lower than the actual quotes provided by the two bidders, A.R. Brouwer and Fonson Company, Inc. Estimates from SmithGroup for the total project were $380,022; the village added a 20% contingency cost to this quote for a total of $456,027. However, the lowest total bid, from Brouwer, came in at $783,000–more than 100 percent higher than the Smith Group’s projection.

Cost estimates varied widely between bidders, with one giving higher bids in a certain area, but lower bids in another. Very few came close to Smith Group’s calculations.

The Village Council discussed its options at Monday night’s meeting. SmithGroupJJR representative, Neal Billetdeaux, explained the disparity by saying that the timing of the bids was difficult. The original bid date in July needed to be postponed because the State of Michigan had not yet approved plans for the riverfront park. The original specifications indicated that park construction would commence this fall. With the shorter time frame as the bids were opened September 12, Billetdeaux said, bidders had trouble finding sub-contractors to do the work, which increased the costs significantly. Village President Pat Vailliencourt commented that it was too bad the dredging work had not started much sooner due to engineering delays. She added that she hoped all of these delays would not jeopardize the grant that the village had received for park development.

A meeting between Billetdeaux, Vailliencourt, and Village Manager Jeff Wallace will be scheduled this week to review plans and develop a new timeline. It is expected new bids will be sought this winter to begin the construction process early in 2019.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.