The Paducah Riverfront Development Authority says it wants direction from the City Commission on the still over-budget Shultz Park renovation project.
The PRDA met yesterday to discuss new construction bids accepted on Sept 9th.
Chairman Bruce Brockenborough says, like the first bids from June, the latest ones are still well over budget. The lowest is more than a million dollars over the $5.1 million in grants the city has available.
Brockenborough says the PRDA has made several cuts to the project costs, but that nothing more can be taken out.
“So, now we’re kinda sitting on a place where the decision has to be made, Is this a project or not?" said Brockenborough. "And that’s something the City Commission has to answer.”
In June, the city accepted bids for the second phase of renovation at the park which includes building a gangway and transient fueling dock as well as adding new sidewalks, stairs and lighting around the park.
The re-bidding process has been lengthy, as doing so requires both city and state authorization.
Brockenborogh says the final determination is ultimately in the hands of the commission, but he's confident that they have the public's best interest in mind.
“The city of Paducah values parks," said Brockenborough. "We have a great parks department and our parks are used to a very high extent compared to peer cities. We know that’s what the citizens want. We get a lot of positive feedback that the connection to the river on a riverfront park is important. So I feel like the city commission knows that the citizens value such an addition and I think if they can find a way to fund it, they will."
The Shultz Park project is just one aspect of a larger Riverfront Development master plan. Brockenborough says all aspects of that plan need to come together in order to be successful.
"It would be very difficult to plan one without the other," he said. "That's what we've always kept in mind whenever we're talking about Shultz Park, whenever we're talking about the Executive Inn site or the hotel site, we think of it all as one large area that can be used for so much more than what its being used for now."
The project decision may be brought up at the next city commission meeting October 6th.
