Brackenridge to seek separate bids for playground resurfacing, tree removal after combined bid was too high

A bid of more than $200,000 to do the Brackenridge playground project has jolted Brackenridge Council.

The bid, from Done Right Construction, was the only one the borough received.

It’s more than double the $95,000 in Allegheny County grant money the borough has to spend on the project.

Borough Engineer Gordon Taylor expressed disappointment at Thursday’s council meeting that it was only bid received.

“We had six contractors pick up (bid) information, but only one submitted a bid,” Taylor said.

The project involves installing a new rubberized surface on the playground and removing some trees.

Council members were stunned by the bid, expecting the cost to actually come in below the grant amount.

“The problem with that was that the trees were thrown in with the playground,” Council President Tim Connelly said, referring to the bid specifications.

He said the contractors interested in doing the playground surface don’t want to be bothered with removing the trees; they would have to hire subcontractors to do that, increasing their costs.

At the same time, he said, tree removal contractors wouldn’t bid on the project because they don’t want the resurfacing work.

Councilman John Stanzione agreed that combining the two projects into one contract instead of separating them was a mistake.

“Right now, the only guys who can bid on the trees are the (subcontractors) of the playground contractors,” he said.

Connelly asked Taylor if the county would allow Brackenridge to bid the work in separate contracts. Taylor said he would contact county officials to see if that can be done.

Council then rejected the lone bid. The borough will seek new bids, pending feedback from the county.