Park Hill hit a snag with its plan to renovate the tennis courts at Barry Road Park.
The Park Hill School District, which has priority access to all eight tennis courts for its tennis programs, is partnering with Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department to help make the necessary improvements to the courts.
The school district and parks board will each pay 50 percent of the project costs.
Dr. Paul Kelly, assistant superintendent for business and technology for Park Hill, said the bids the district received to renovate the eight tennis courts exceeded the $700,000 allocated to fund the project. Now, the school district is obligated to go back to the park board for approval of the additional cost sharing before construction begins.
Park Hill received 19 competitive bids. An asphalt base bid, which included pricing for curbs, tennis court surfacing, chain link fencing, landscaping, fill material to raise courts and construction fees, totaled $817,427.
Alternatively, the district received a post tension concrete bid with a similar scope of work for $872,231.
Despite the additional $54,804 cost associated with the post tension concrete, Kelly said it is the best decision for the district from an economic standpoint.
“There is a consensus among tennis players and coaches that post tension (concrete) would be a better solution long-term for maintenance and liability,” said Kelly.
The district plans to use a Platte County Outreach Grant totaling $25,000 toward a portion of its reconstruction costs.
Once the contractor is picked, the district will work toward selecting a desirable start date to begin renovation.
The district wants to begin reconstruction before outdoor temperatures fall below 50 degrees.
“There is some weather sensitivity to the last portion of the project,” said Kelly.
With either option the district selects, the top layer on the courts will require four to six weeks with temperatures above 50 degrees, he added.
Since the Park Hill’s tennis team will be affected by the temporary closure of the courts, district officials are planning to conduct tennis practices and games on other courts in the community.
The district has submitted a written request to the city requesting the additional cost sharing.