By Jim Bloch
Two of Port Huron’s parks are about to get $405,020 in upgrades.
The city council voted unanimously at its regular meeting April 22 to award the bid for a new playscape for Harrison Pointe Park to sole bidder Penchura, L.L.C., of Brighton, in the amount of $212,730.
The company will install a PlayOdyssey Tower Play Structure, for ages 5-12; a 50-foot Double ZipKrooz with an Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible harness seat; a four-bay swing; an Oodle Swing; a Topsy Turney Spinner; 368 linear feet of plastic timber border with an access ramp; and the necessary safety surfacing. The play area will be 116 feet by 68 feet.
The installation is expected to be complete by fall.
The council voted unanimously to award the contract for the repair and resurfacing of the back tennis courts at Sanborn Park, turning them into pickleball courts, to Astec Asphalt, Inc., of Brown City, in the amount of $124,790.
“In September 2023, council approved the lease amendment with Port Huron Tennis House which allowed the city to retain control of the back tennis courts for future recreation opportunities,” said City Manager James Freed in his memo to Mayor Pauline Repp and the council. “It is the desire of the Parks & Recreation Department to repair these courts and to restripe them to allow for multiple pickleball courts in their place. On February 26, 2024, we received one bid for the resurfacing project from Astec Asphalt Inc., in the amount of $181,790. In working with Astec, deductions were proposed which brings the new quoted amount to $124,790. This project is expected to be completed this summer.”
The council voted unanimously to award the contract to install a new boiler at Sanborn Pool to Watson Brothers Company of Port Huron in the amount of $67,500.
“The boiler at Sanborn Pool is at the end of its life and in need of replacement,” said Freed in his memo to Mayor Pauline Repp and the city council.
Watson Brother’s original bid was significantly higher at $116,000, but still the lowest of three bidders. Rolls Mechanical, of Fenton, was next at $132,500. Clearwater Construction Services, Inc., of Livonia, was high at $133,027.
Rolls submitted an alternate bid of $67,500; Watson’s alternate bid was $68,000. Section 2-797, Preference for local bidders/City based businesses, of the city code, allowed officials to scale Watson’s bid downward to match that of Rolls.
Watson Brothers has a long working history with both of the city’s outdoor pools, Freed said. The boiler was original to the pool when it was built in 1969. The new boiler should last 25-30 years.
“This project is part of a Michigan DNR Trust Fund grant in the amount of $250,000 for multiple improvements at Sanborn Park,” said Freed.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
