Low bids bring more life to Hunter Village Park

 (West Valley Journal) Hunter Village residents are smiling ear to ear with work being performed to prepare the land for the upcoming residential park.

Cracar Construction was the lowest bidder, and the city council gave its approval in February to start construction. Parks Planner Gregg Cudworth said the bids came in lower than anticipated, allowing him to add more components.

"Originally, I had to really work hard with my pencil and with the engineers to get the project whittled down to $620,000," he said. "The bids came in under estimate by $70,000 to $80,000, which really surprised me."

Hunter Village Park's budget was figured at $600,000 for the 5.65 acre lot. This number was devised by comparing it to amenities and acreage of similar parks in the city. Terrace Ridge Park was used as a comparison and was built just over a year ago.

With more money to work with, Cudworth replaced seed with sod to get the turf up immediately.

"Even with the sod added back in we were still under budget," he said.

Two picnic tables with shelters were also added. These will be placed along the two and a half mile trail that already exists. Unfortunately, there wasn't room for every feature residents wanted, one being a restroom facility.

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