$600K PARK RESTROOM PROJECTS NEARING END
Despite a significant cost increase over initial estimates the city of Alma is nearing completion of $600,000 in restroom upgrades at three city parks.
The final price tag is about $260,000 more than anticipated when the projects were approved in 2020.
At that time the city had been awarded a $173,000 Natural Resources Trust Fund Development Project grant that officials thought would pay for half of the work.
Even though construction costs increased dramatically due to the pandemic, both the city’s engineering firm, Rowe Professional Services of Mt. Pleasant, and city staff recommended moving forward with the projects because the grant agreement required completion by Aug. 31, 2022 and there was no guarantee the price would change before the deadline.
Because the deteriorating condition of the restrooms had become a big issue over the past several years, upgrading the facilities was high on the city’s priority list,
City commissioners approved moving forward with the work last year and now all three projects are nearly finished, according to interim City Manager Aeric Ripley.
At Wright Park a complete new facility has been built at a cost of about $260,000. It features four universally designed single occupancy restrooms modeled after the one on Charles Avenue adjacent to the Fred Meijer Heartland Trail.
Work there is expected to be completed by early July, Ripley said.
That’s the same time work at the Pine River/conservation Park restrooms, which is costing $252,000, will be finished.
The final upgrade, at Riverside Park, costing $90,000, is due for completion in August.
To cover the increased costs the city commission recently approved using $82,000 from the city’s share of American Rescue Plan dollars and $178,000 from the Herbert H. Lueth Endowment, which was established through the Gratiot County Community Foundation to be used for city park upgrades.