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Improvement Plans Move Forward for Market Street Park Project
The city is taking bids on upgrades to Market Street Park, after a few changes to the plan. Auburn city council voted in mid March to move forward with the $1 million project to revitalize the downtown park. But at the council's request, city planners will amend a proposal to change the parking adjacent to the park.
The city will also ask contractors to itemize their bids for the entire project, which would allow officials to prioritize specific improvements before approving a final proposal. The unanimous vote on the bids came after much discussion over the cost of the project and its proposal to move parking on Market Street from the southern to the northern end of the road.
Councilors Thomas McNabb, William Graney and Matthew Smith all requested the parking stay on the street's south side in order to avoid losing a parking space. While no official vote was taken, the majority consensus means the city planners will abide by those wishes.
As for the specific park improvements, city officials will be able to see the bids broken down item-by-item. Planning officials will also request a base bid of items totaling approximately $600,000 with the remaining funds included as possible add-in alternatives. Half of the project will be funded by two state grants, while the city will cover the rest with in-kind services.
Other changes to the submitted drawings followed internal discussions with the City and area business owners, engineers, city planners and members of the public. These tweaks included minor alterations to the walkways to meet ADA guidelines and incorporating the work along street edge at the fire department.
According to the plans, which were designed by Environmental Design and Research, the park will receive new benches, tables, trash canisters and other upgrades. Half of the improvements will be funded by two state grants, while the city will cover the rest.
There will also be changes to allow visitors to see and get closer to the water and make the park more accessible to the disabled and elderly.
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