If the St. Joseph City Commission gives final approval tonight, a new Briarwood Shelter for Riverview Park will be underway soon to replace the structure demolished last fall, and the projected winning bid will go to Tailored Building Systems of Grand Rapids — a division of Pioneer Construction, the general contractor on the new LECO Corporation building on Hilltop Road in St. Joseph Charter Township. They’ll also consider a parking system for Kiwanis Park.
Tailored Building Systems delivered a bid last week of $23,740 to construct the new Briarwood shelter, manufactured by Poligon of Holland. The Tailored Building team has experience with Poligon structures, having recently completed a structure for the team at the Frederick Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids.
Tailored Building Systems’ bid was the lowest of four received by the city. The others were from McGuire’s Construction of Benton Harbor, Pearson Construction of Benton Harbor, and Mihm Enterprises of Hamilton. Those bids all ranged from $41-to-$44,000.
The new shelter is slated to be just over 30-feet wide and 75-feet long with steel support posts and a metal roof, not unlike the metal roofs found elsewhere in the city. The peak of the roof will stand 15-feet above grade, and eaves at the 10-foot level along the St. Joseph Riverfront in Riverview Park off of Niles Road near I-94. The shelter has been used extensively over the years for many public and private events ranging from the Cornerstone Chamber Steak Fry to wedding ceremonies, class reunions, and birthday gatherings.
A carved steel plate bearing the city’s official lighthouse logo and the name of the shelter would be set into the end of the roof of the 2,250 square foot facility facing the approach path just off of the roadway within the park, under the blueprint design sent to commissioners in their board packets this week.
The structure is also capable of withstanding winds up to 115 miles per hour according to the manufacturing blueprints, and capable of handling snow loads on the roof consistent with typical local snowfall maximums.
Contractors responding to the request for proposals had a deadline of January 8th after which staff carefully reviewed each proposal before making the recommendation to the city commission for the Tailored Building Systems offer.
The Commission is also being asked to approve placement of an electronic pay station for parking at Kiwanis Park in the city. When the city staff set 2019 fees around the community, they established a $5 per day and $2 per hour rate at Kiwanis Park for those who do not have the city’s annual park pass.
Commissioners are being asked tonight to authorize purchase of a Luke II pay station identical to the system currently employed for electronic parking fee collections at Tiscornia Park, Whirlpool Centennial Park, City Hall, and at Lions Park Beach.
City Public Works Director Tom MacDonald says, “Staff continues to be extremely pleased with the reliability, flexibility and ease of use of the Luke II system as well as the service provided by Traffic & Safety Control Systems.” He adds, “In addition, by staying with the same system, this will allow us to utilize the Passport parking app in Kiwanis Park as well.”
If authorized, the city will spend $11,875 from the city’s Capital Improvement Fund to acquire the new system for Kiwanis Park.
