Northwood OKs bid to make improvements to Brentwood Park

        Northwood City Council recently approved a contract for a restroom/concession stand in Brentwood Park at 2100 Tracy Road on the west side of the city.
        The $170,000 base bid of A.A. Boos, Inc., was approved by council. It was one of two companies that bid on the project. Comte Construction Company submitted a $226,000 base bid.
        A.A. Boos will be responsible for the foundation and site preparation work only.
        Administrator Bob Anderson said the project will be done in phases.
        The city received a $75,000 grant from the State of Ohio towards construction of the facility, according to Anderson. Time is of the essence in the use of the grant. The city plans to get started on the project this year.
        The city originally allocated $100,000 toward the project in the 2019 budget.  An additional $60,000 was also allocated, bringing the total amount of funds available to $160,000 in 2019, said Anderson.
       
Long-time plans
        The city has planned to upgrade the park for some time, according to Anderson, for the Miracle League of Northwest Ohio, which plays baseball in Brentwood Park.
        The non-profit organization “provides opportunities for children and adults with disabilities to play Miracle League baseball,” according to its mission statement.
        “We started with the concept, `Wouldn’t it be nice to have restrooms for the people that use the Miracle League ball field?’” said Anderson. “Most of the people who use it have developmental disabilities. We’ve had portable restrooms there. Then someone said, `Since we’re going to apply for a grant for restrooms, let’s add a concession stand.’’’
       
High bids
        After receiving the $75,000 state grant, the project got derailed after unexpectedly high bids came in, said Anderson.
        “The darn thing came in at $450,000. We couldn’t believe the amount of money it would cost just to build restrooms and a concession stand. So we kept making the project smaller, taking out stuff. We kept rebidding and rebidding the project until we finally got it down to a reasonable cost,” he said.
        The project will be done in phases.
        “A.A. Boos will be putting in the foundation and water and sewer connections for the first phase. In the spring, we hope that most of the work and material will be donated because of the nature of the Miracle League.” So far, there have been no solid commitments, he added.
        “We put $100,000 into the project. Then Mayor Schimmel asked for $60,000 more from the city towards the project. We have to make sure we don’t lose the $75,000 state grant. It is time limited,” he said. “We have an architect who is on the Miracle League board who has volunteered most of the drawings. And the city engineer is also doing some work. The electrical union, the plumbers union and cement contractors are all verbally committed to doing some of the work. We’re going to try and pull it together that way.”