County To Build Concession Stand At Showell Park

SNOW HILL – County officials agreed to hire a project manager to oversee construction of a concession stand and restroom at Showell Park.

After rejecting bids that would have put the project cost above $250,000, the Worcester County Commissioners approved a value-engineered approach for the concession stand and restroom facility at Showell Park. Officials chose that option over a mobile concession trailer.

“I think the option to have a permanent structure is the right way to go,” Commissioner Chip Bertino said. “In the long-term it would seem it would benefit the county more than a mobile unit.”

Tom Perlozzo, the county’s director of recreation, parks, tourism and economic development, told the commissioners that the lowest of the bids received for a 720-square-foot concession stand and restroom facility had been close to $250,000.

“It did not include the EDUs required which is roughly $31,000 nor the water and sewer line that we needed to run, increasing the project cost to over $300,000,” he said. “At that time we came back to the commission and rejected those bids.”

Instead, he talked to local builders and explored value engineering, hiring a local contractor and breaking the project up rather than working with a commercial bidder. He presented that solution, which would cost a grand total of $190,500, to the commissioners along with the option of spending roughly $75,000 on a concession trailer. Perlozzo added, however, that the health department would still require water and sewer connections to the site, even with a mobile unit.

He said his department would prefer the permanent structure but because it was overbudget had presented the mobile alternative.

“It kind of depends on what you wanted to do but as far as the recreation and parks department and the tournaments and activities we plan on providing, a permanent structure makes more sense,” he said.

Bertino agreed and asked whether naming rights could be something the county could explore. Perlozzo said that was something that could be looked into.

The commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with hiring a project manager and building a permanent concession and restroom facility. Program Open Space is expected to cover 90% of the project cost.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.