Cost for Sports Park may rise

The $46 million price tag for the Brownsville Sports Park could soon increase again by nearly $85,000.

Officials continue to consider changes and additions for the complex being constructed on Merryman Road, and its projected cost has already increased from $10 million to $46 million.

The Brownsville Community Improvement Corp. board, which manages the project, will meet at 4 p.m. Monday, at City Hall, 1001 E. Elizabeth St., to discuss four park additions totaling $84,640.

These additions include equipment for a concession stand, the addition of concrete at the column-base of the concession buildings, and electrical modifications to a pavilion and amphitheater.

The changes come on the heels of several alterations and additions to the project within the last year.

In January, after the soccer fields were graded at the complex, City Recreation Director Skip Keller observed that their slope was steep.

Re-shaping the fields to fix the slope has added nearly $122,000 to cost of the project's ongoing first phase that carries a price tag of $24.3 million. The second phase is projected to cost as much as $20 million.

As of May 31, there have been eight change orders to the contract with SpawGlass Contractors and more than 40 "contingency change orders."

However, the requests have not been approved as change orders to the contract, but instead as request to BCIC's contingency fund.

BCIC initially allocated $100,000 to the contingency fund, an amount long past depleted. The group continues to make charges to the fund, which is subsidized by flowing sales tax revenues and loans from the city.

At the May 5 BCIC meeting, the board discussed a change order to the contract for $205,422 at park Superintendent Tuffy Martinez's request.

Martinez's request was to place the same type of turf, known as "celebration grass," on softball fields that is being placed on soccer fields. This would allow for the fields to be ready for use in December when the first phase of the project will be completed.

The board had previously approved a contingency change order for $451,466 for the grass on the soccer fields.

On BCIC Chairman Charlie Atkinson's motion, the board members who were present - including city commissioners Carlos Cisneros and Anthony Troiani, William Garza and Carlo G. Hernandez - unanimously approved the request.

The approval came after BCIC Executive Director Delina Barrera told them that there were not enough funds in the budget or contingency fund.

Other changes have included replacing 1-inch water lines with 2-inch lines to accommodate projected demand.

Mark Mathews, the project manager with HNTB, the firm that designed and engineered the project, told the board in January that the decision to use the smaller lines was made during the design phase.

The smaller lines were to serve as a cost-saving measure because of the impact fees. Barrera said at the January meeting that lines should be based on demand and not anticipated meter costs.

Other changes include adding lime to the trails and soccer fields to lessen cracks and uneven settling. Ground water also was discovered at the maintenance building's site and required resolution.

Concrete pads were mistakenly placed for player-benches and these had to be removed. They were hauled to the south lake at the park site.