The Downtown Billings Partnership (DBP) and downtown Business Improvement District (BID) would like to construct a "pocket park" on property owned by the First Congregational United Church of Christ (FCC), located on N. 27th Street at 3rd Avenue North.  The FCC will grant the City an easement for constructing and maintaining the park and the DBP contracted with a landscape architect for the project design, bidding and construction management.  The City invited bids by advertising in the Billings Times and opened bids on May 9.  Two (2) companies submitted bids and both exceed the budget and staff recommends rejecting all bids. 

The City Council may approve a contract with the low bidder or it may reject all bids and allow the DBP and BID to redesign the project for cost savings or to seek private donations for the project.  The bidders and bid amounts are as follows:

Yellowstone Basin Construction     $255,904
Askin Construction                          $239,710

The DBP Board allocated up to $200,000 for the project.  There is approximately $630,000 in the tax increment account at the end of April and this construction expense has been identified as a project in the DBP budget for several years.  The City will receive 2016 second half taxes in June, which will increase the account balance by about $1.1 million.   

The DBP and BID recommend that the City Council reject all bids.