Southgate City Council has selected a vendor to replace and upgrade playground equipment in the city’s Community Center Park, the council announced at its Nov. 1 meeting.
A committee that included city clerk Brandi Barton, council member Aileen Okura and city forman Avril Bowman met with vendors and reviewed materials.
Earlier, the committee had received an estimate for $84,159.45 from GameTime, an Alabama company with an office in Harrison, Ohio, but decided to open up the bidding.
Rather than put out specs to determine the cost, the committee decided to start with the amount of money the city had budgeted for the project and work from there.
The city provided an outline of what they wanted — a new playset for toddlers and young children aged 2 to 5 years old and a play center for older children aged 5 to 12 years old and said they would keep the swing set frame already in place.
“In the bid we asked for equipment up to $95,000,” Barton said. “This is not about finding the lowest bid, it is about getting the best equipment bang for our buck.”
GameTime was invited to bid with others under the new parameter. The company provided a second option closer to the city’s budget but included their original estimate as “option one.”
After discussion and review, council voted to approve option one from GameTime, close to $10,000 under the city’s budgeted amount.
Okura said she wanted the equipment to be different from the surrounding cities. The GameTime option included “expression swings,” a swing for toddlers that includes a seat for the child and a seat opposite for an adult.
“I showed that to a couple of moms with young kids, and they really liked it. I wanted to have something with a little twist,” she added. Barton reminded council the city would be able plan for additional equipment or upgrades in future budgets.
