Optimist Park is located at Morgan Avenue and Hallowell Lane.  On February 11, 2016, staff sent out a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking responses from qualified firms for professional services to develop an Optimist Park Master Plan.  Seven firms responded. A staff team reviewed all of the responses and selected Land Design, Inc. of Billings as the top ranked firm.  After meeting with staff to negotiate a contract, a fee of $49,615.00 was agreed upon.  If the contract is approved, work on the master plan will commence immediately.

City Council may:

• Approve the contract to develop an Optimist Park Master Plan, or;
• Disapprove the contract and provide guidance to staff on the Council's preferred alternative.

In FY 14 and FY 15, the City Council authorized a total of $25,000 from the Council Contingency Fund for an Optimist Park Master Plan.  $15,000 was transferred to the PRPL revenue account but $10,000 wasn't transferred, must be rebudgeted and will be included in a 4th quarter budget amendment that the Council will consider in June.  The South Billings Urban Renewal Association recommended and the City Council approved spending $25,000 from the South Billings Boulevard tax increment fund for the study.  The total funding of $50,000 is sufficient for this contract. 

Staff recommends that the City Council approve the contract for $49,615 with Land Design, Inc. to create a park master plan for Optimist Park.