Construction to build a new 31-space public parking lot and public lawn could start this spring, now that the town has received project bids including three that are within the town’s budget.

That’s good news for town businesses and The Kate, whose patrons will benefit from the upgrade to the vacant Main Street lot where the town’s police station once stood. At a future date, the town would complete phase two, construction of a landscaped park and pedestrian path connecting Main Street with Lynde Street.

The original plan was to complete the Main Street Connection Park as one project, constructing the parking spaces as well as a landscaped park and pedestrian path. When the town put the complete project out to bid in June 2015, the bids that came in, while close to the $500,000 grant amount, didn’t cover all of the project’s costs, so the bids were rejected by the town. First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr. asked the state for additional Small-Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant funds to fill out the project budget, but the state did not approve the town’s second request.

That’s when Fortuna asked Town Engineer Geoff Jacobson to rework the project to divide the work into two phases, with the goal of reducing the cost of the first phase of the project.

In December 2016, the Zoning Commission allowed the town to modify the original approval to divide the original Main Street Connection Park project into two phases, with the first phase including construction of a new public parking lot and open lawn area.

On March 28, the town opened nine bids from firms interested in completing the project’s first phase during the 2017 construction season. Of the nine bids, three were close and clustered around $400,000.

The three lowest bids were $389,100 from Running Brook Farms, LLC, $395,624 from Schumack Engineering Construction Co. Inc., and $410,800 from Winthrop Construction, LLC. The other bids were higher and ranged from $422,400 to a high of $498,650. These bids are low enough to cover the town’s total project costs and allow the Board of Selectmen to award a contract.

Before going out to bid this year, the town decided to eliminate any uncertainty for bidders—which can raise costs—by assessing whether the site had contamination that could affect construction. An environmental consultant was hired. Borings done as a part of this study did not find residual contamination until eleven feet below ground. As a result, the town was able to inform contractors they could proceed without concerns about contaminated soil.

The town is preparing for Phase Two. In 2016, Fortuna secured a five-foot wide easement from Frontier Communications to allow the town to plan to put a pedestrian path north of the communications tower fence. Elements of the future Main Street park, in addition to the planned path, could include benches, decorative lighting, and possibly a recreational facility like a bocce court.

Fortuna said that he would seek input from the Parks & Recreation Department and the public before finalizing plans for the Phase Two park plans.