Adam Bramburger
Beaver Staff
Playground improvements at the Wilton Park will move forward after Loyalist Township council awarded a tender to Kiley Paving Ltd. for $84,750 Monday.
In a report to council, Loyalist construction project supervisor Joseph Gratton noted the Wilton Community Association had approached the municipality last November to partner in improving the playground.
The two parties agreed to evenly split the $40,000 cost estimate for the association’s preferred playground structure. The township’s engineering staff completed the design work for the park, Gratton reported, and they recommended fixing an existing drainage problem and adding a required accessibility pathway as part of the work.
The tendering period for the project closed April 6 with three companies bidding. In addition to Kingston-based Kiley, the Picton-based Wentworth Landscape Group bid $101,051.44 and Morven Construction Ltd. bid $113,536.75.
Excepting the $20,000 raised in the community, the township’s cost including staff time was just under $66,000.
To cover the additional work to create fix the drainage issue and add the accessible walkway, staff recommended council redirect $26,000 from Fairfield Park playground budget allocation to Wilton Park. Gratton noted that a $150,000 budget was allocated for the Fairfield Park playground for 2018, but the township was not successful in attaining matching funding to move forward with that project.