By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Independence City Council reviewed revised plans to terrace the proposed amphitheater at its park at the regular council meeting this week.
Councilman Tom Brinker brought the subject up, asking for an update, since it has been a few years since the beginning of the project. The city has had to redesign the project since the initial bids on the project were high and way above the engineer’s estimate.
The revised engineer’s estimate for the project is $600,000. The money should come out of the ARPA money that the city received during the pandemic.
“The easy way to describe it is where the bowl is going to wrap around, it wasn’t 180 degrees, but much closer to 180, we’re basically bringing it in halfway on either side,” said Independence Mayor Chris Reinersman, gesturing with his hands.
He and CAO Chris Moriconi had gone over the newly redesigned site plan recently.
“So instead of having it stepped out all the way around, there’s going to be a substantial area that is stepped, there will be steps going down the center of it. And then the bowl will go out. There will still be those two like patio or landing areas up to on either side, but it won’t go all the way
around, or nearly as far around.”
He reassured council there is still going to be a large area that will be within the new terraced area.
“You know, it’s not the end of the world, we’ve sat on the hill on blankets forever, and I think for a lot of our events what’s there will be adequate,” said Reinersman. “I think the Independence Day celebration on Saturday it’s going to be packed. People will be on blankets on the hill and they will be
okay.”
Brinker asked if some of the savings came from the scaling back of the project and Reinersman agreed, saying that they did get rid of some of the frills that weren’t going to make much difference, but then they tried to look ahead, and kept the part where they were running electric so they would have that
done for future projects.
“It’s a site plan,” said CAO Moriconi, referring to what they are working with now. “There is plenty of green, grassy hill that is not terraced. The retaining walls are not poured foundation walls but are block walls. That saved a lot of money.”
Moriconi added that there will be a 10-foot sidewalk that will be lighted, and there will be lights on the steps, so people will be able to see clearly to navigate to the event or back to their cars.
He said that they hope to send it out to bid in May so that they can have the bids at the June meeting. He said the city would like to have bids that were close to the engineer’s estimate. If the bids are not in a reasonable vicinity of the estimate, Moriconi said the project could be put on hold.
Mayor Reinersman said he thought the first bid effort was intimidating, to an extent, and that might have been why the bids came in so high, so this time they tried to make the bid requirements nice and clear, and more simplified.
Both Reinersman and Moriconi want to have the construction started right after Labor Day, so the project can be completed and ready for events next summer.