Riverside School District 96 has chosen D&J Landscaping for the new Blythe Park playground project.
At its Jan. 21 meeting, the Board of Education approved the firm’s bid of $386,785 for the project, which will kick off after the school year ends. The work will include removal and disposal of the existing playground equipment, surfacing and curbing, as well as installation of new cobble paver curbing.
Shorewood-based D&J Landscaping’s bid only covers the site work and not the playground equipment, according to Dr. Mark Kuznetsky, district interim director of finance and operations, who said that work will incorporate heavy machinery to move the existing playground equipment. Site evaluations and measurements will be done before this school year ends.
“We have used a firm called Imagine Nation, a playground consultant, who has helped us imagine the equipment,” he said, adding decisions on the equipment itself haven’t been finalized, but a final proposal should arrive within two weeks.
“The district has the opportunity to work as part of a state cooperative,” he said, “and as part of that, we know that Imagine Nation, as being part of the state cooperative, we know we’re getting the lowest price out there.”
That means the total cost to the district will be under the $750,000 total budget for the project, Kuzniewski said. The other bidder for the project, Clauss Brothers, Inc., bid $543,031 for the project.
“In this situation, we are required to take the lowest qualified bidder,” he said. “We required a bid bond, which means they have to be bonded for the amount of their proposal.”
Village of Riverside trustees approved the new playground design in December, on the condition that a raised curb and fence that was planned to encircle the playground be removed.