Exclusive Playground Design

The City of Sun Prairie's Parks, Recreation & Forestry Department is soliciting proposals for an exclusive playground design contract to replace six existing playgrounds and install two new playgrounds across eight different park locations. Qualified vendors must submit four playground design concepts at specific budget price points ($30,000, $45,000, $65,000, and $80,000) targeting two age groups: 2-5 and 5-12 years old. The designs must accommodate specific equipment requirements including tube slides, crawl tubes, independent play events, and swing configurations, while adhering to ADA standards, CPSC/ASTM/IPEMA safety guidelines, and prioritizing universal design principles. The RFP was issued on May 22, 2020, with proposals due on June 19, 2020, at 2:00 PM CST, and questions were required to be submitted by June 5, 2020. Evaluation criteria include play event variety (35 points), product line design flexibility (25 points), design guideline compliance (15 points), cost (10 points), reference checks (10 points), and local vendor preference (5 points).

The contract, running from July 22, 2020, to November 30, 2022, with a potential one-year extension, does not appear to have specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises. Eight vendors submitted responses, including Boland Recreation, Commercial Recreation Specialists, Gerber Leisure Products, J. Oliver Construction, Lee Recreation, Midstate Recreation, MN WI Playground, and Northland Recreation. The City ultimately announced its intent to award the contract to Lee Recreation, located in Cambridge, Wisconsin. While specific contract value was not disclosed, the design budgets range from $30,000 to $80,000 per playground. Vendors must provide comprehensive insurance coverage, including $1,000,000 in commercial general liability, automobile liability, and professional liability, plus a $5,000,000 umbrella liability policy. The selected vendor will be responsible for creating customized designs with neighborhood input and providing equipment specifications for subsequent material procurement and labor bidding processes.