By Barb Pert Templeton
A recent meeting of the Marine City Commission had Marine City Manager Michael Reaves seeking approval for a bid of $61,587 for a pair of pavilions for the Marine City Marina.
Reaves explained the process and details of the plan with the commission and then they unanimously approved the bid for Backyard Living located in Richmond. Mayor Jennifer Vandenbossche was absent from the recent, June 19th meeting.
The city manager began by stating that a photo in the commission packets reflected images of a marina pavilion where visitors could sit and have lunch and the second image was for a fish shelter.
The city got two bids for the project but after some “due diligence” rejected both bids.
Reaves said he’ll be coming back to the commission with a different scope and a bid for construction of the marina project Phase One at a July meeting
Former city manager Scott Adkins, who’s currently working as a consultant for the city, went out and got three quotes in regards to the pavilion kits – two at the marina and one at the Guy Center. Reaves explained the shelters for the marina.
One is a 20 x 36 pavilion for the marina area and the other is a fish station that will be 10 x 12.
“In reviewing the bids, we could get the biggest bang for our buck overall if we were to buy all three from a local distributor,” Reaves said,
He added that it was hard to get a company that could do the pavilion for the Guy Center.
This is a picture of the shelters to be put in place at the Marine City Marina by Backyard Living in Richmond. The project includes a pavilion and a fish station.
“It was difficult to find what we were looking for in terms of kits and construction of kits,” Reaves said. “The big one at the Guy Center is really a game changer, not a lot of people have that in a kit.”
Backyard Living provided a quote for all three shelters.
The city manager noted that several other bids looked cheaper but they didn’t include installation.
“Installation is a key in terms of keeping your warranty and your guarantee,” Reaves said. “And I felt Backyard Living would do the best out of all the ones we looked at.”
Reaves said he and Adkins drove to Richmond to see samples and they were of a high quality.
“Easily last 50 to 75 years on that type of pavilion, they are snow rated and all those types of things,” Reaves said, adding that the kits needed to be ordered now.
Also, the city really needs to keep up with the marina project today. They need to get the park work done, the road portion done, the dirt moving done, and the cement put down so the pavilions can be put in place in November, Reaves said.
Phase Two of the marina project will include working on the restrooms, the sidewalks and the benches.
The plan is to order the two pavilions for Phase One now because the city has the funding via two grants so they can get it going, the city manager said. He plans to present the construction plan to the commission in July.
Commissioner William Klaassen asked if the pavilions had steel roofs and Reaves replied yes.
Commissioner Sean O’Brien asked it there were any plans to deter vandalism at the marina.
“Is there something we should bake into this early on while we’re constructing and designing it?” O’Brien asked.
Reaves said he’s already got the police chief looking into some pole cameras and other things but he’d like to talk about it at a later date.
“It’s on the radar, it probably will be included in this, but I’d rather just leave it at that and I’ll supply you the information as soon as I have a clearer picture,” Reaves said.
