Joliet Council May Reject Low Bid On Slammers Field Turf

JOLIET, IL - The Joliet City Council is being asked to reject the lowest bid on the city's upcoming project to remove the natural grass at the Joliet Slammers minor league baseball stadium and install synthetic turf. The upcoming renovations to the sports venue is one of the city's highest priorities this fall. The city expects the improvements and upgrades will be a major boon for downtown Joliet, attracting a host of new baseball tournaments, soccer tournaments, live music concerts, among other events. First, the city needs to decide what company to hire and how much to spend.

At Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. meeting, the City Council is expected to vote on a measure to give the work to Field Turf USA for a grand total of $651,189. Interim City Manager Marty Shanahan indicated in a memo to the council that the lowest of the five sealed bids came in at $471,400 from Midwest Sport and Turf Systems. "The bid document specifications required providing a multi-sport synthetic field turf designed primarily for baseball use," Shanahan wrote. "The low bid by Midwest Sport and Turf Systems in the amount of $471,400 did not conform to these bid document specifications."

A representative of Midwest Sport attended Monday's pre-council meeting and he disputed the city's contention that his business did not follow the city's bidding guidelines. Additionally, a representative from Field Turf, USA also was in attendance, and he talked about the dozens of stadiums and sports facilities that his company has installed synthetic turf throughout Illinois. Shanahan explained how he and a handful of fellow city officials toured several suburban high schools that used Field Turf. The city came away impressed, Shanahan indicated.

Field Turf, USA submitted a bid of $585,456 and noted it could install a composite non-rubber infill top layer for an extra $65,733. "This infill top layer will lower the playing surface temperature," Shanahan advised. "Staff recommends this infill material be installed sine the field will be used during many more day events in the summer."

Three other companies submitted bids for Joliet's the synthetic turf project, Astroturf Corporation at $685,810, Byrne & Jones Construction at $964,000 and Hellas Construction at $980,478. A council memo indicates city of Joliet estimated the work at around $590,000.

In addition to installing new synthetic turf, Joliet plans to modify the baseball stadium as part of the upcoming renovations to allow for other sporting events, notably soccer, which is popular in Joliet. Joliet has agreed to pay for the baseball stadium improvements but will receive reimbursements from the Special Service Area Fund ($50,000 per year) and use the $100,000 annual contribution from Waste Management's community support to defray the costs. In addition to the synthetic turf, Joliet's council has already awarded a number of contracts for other upgrades to the Joliet Slammers stadium.

Those contacts include:

• $527,471 to Hoppy Landscaping for site and utility excavation
• $166,420 to Action Fence Contractors for new fencing
• $143,206 to Austin-Tyler Construction for concrete work
• $54,250 to Pedersen Company for landscaping
• $46,827 to Hoffcor Inc. for wall padding
• $16,400 to Cosgrove Construction, Inc., Joliet, for painting

Image via Joliet Patch