The playground equipment at Ponderosa Park has reached the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced.  Council approved $250,000 from Park District 1 (PD1) for this purpose in the FY19 Budget.  Staff intends to utilize the State of Montana Cooperative Purchasing Program to purchase the equipment.  The Cooperative Purchasing Program negotiates a discounted price with vendors, enabling municipalities to purchase items directly from approved vendors in lieu of the traditional bidding process. 

Staff designed and selected the replacement equipment that will be ADA accessible and inclusive for all children to play together no matter their abilities or disabilities.  See Attachment A.  The equipment will be purchased from a single vendor, Northwest Playground Equipment Inc.  This vendor represents manufacturers of play equipment that are distributed nationally and internationally meeting all industry and federal standards.  The cost of the equipment including freight charges will be $139,267.45.  Staff is seeking Council approval for this purchase.

The remaining funding will provide for a concrete ADA accessible route from the street to the playground, sub-surface drainage, fall protection, and play equipment installation.

City Council may:

• Approve purchasing the playground equipment from Northwest Playground Equipment, Inc. for $139,267.45, or;
• Disapprove the purchase and provide guidance to staff.

There will be no additional impact on the City.  This project was included in the FY19 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).  The project was not able to be completed in FY19, however, the funds are still available in FY20.  The project budget is $250,000 and will need to be reestablished through a quarterly budget amendment.

Staff recommends the Council approve the purchase of playground equipment from Northwest Playground Equipment, Inc. in the amount of $139,267.45.