The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Construction date set for recreation complex
PORTLAND — The town is moving forward with one of its major projects.
Members of the Portland Route 17 Recreation Complex Steering Committee are scheduled to hold a pre-bid meeting with potential contractors next week. The contractors will then have three weeks in which to submit their proposals, with the bid opening scheduled for March 27 at 2 p.m.
“We’re looking at an April 15 groundbreaking,” committee Vice Chairwoman Jessica Labbadia told the Board of Selectmen last week. She estimated construction will take the better part of 15 months.
The complex is to be built on a parcel of townowned land on the east side of Route 17 and will include two soccer fields, two baseball fields, a playground, splash pad and hiking and running trails.
The construction is being funded by a $6 million portion of an overall $10 million infrastructure bond issue approved by voters in 2016.
Concerned about possible cost over-runs, committee members had weighed cutting back on some of the amenities that were included in the original plan. However, Carl Johnson, the town’s grounds crew leader, who serves as a liaison to the committee, “suggested that public sentiment is there is a greater need to have facilities (such as the walking trail) rather than sports fields,” according to the minutes of the committee’s Jan. 8 meeting.
The committee agreed to forgo the installation of two under drains slated to be put in place beneath the soccer fields. Eliminating them saved the committee $190,000. The committee also made additional reductions to bring the projected spending back under the $6 million cap.
Although Labbadia said “It’s looking like we are going forward ASAP,” the committee is still awaiting state Department of Transportation approval for the committee’s recommended entrance and exit off Strickland Street.
The committee last month refined its design for the entrance in an effort to save an additional $300,000. The selectmen unanimously endorsed the revised proposal and the committee's calendar for bid submissions.