2019-08-12 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                  12 AUGUST 2019


A detailed set of design drawings and supporting documentation has now been developed that
captures in an integrated way the strong vision for the playground site. These drawings detail
approximately 80% of the infrastructure, and have achieved the purpose of providing a greater
understanding of project delivery requirements. It has confirmed a likely complex procurement
and construction environment as the project moves forward, with a number of options for delivery
available that involve different levels of risk. It has been concluded by project staff that an
Expression of Interest (EOI) process would best suit refining the delivery model by fostering good
feedback from the market, and help mitigate the risks involved with uncertainties remaining over
the design and associated delivery costs.

2.    Cost Estimation for Capital and Operational Budgets

The detailed design process has led to an initial understanding of likely capital costs for
constructing the playground and surrounding carparks. Despite this, there remains a number of
unknowns, including costs associated with delivering a number of bespoke play elements, such
as timber structures and water play. In addition, it was identified in 2018 that costs to maintain
the playground would likely be significant, with initial estimates placing it well beyond current
budget allocations for the Parks and Gardens operations. A detailed analysis was undertaken by
a separate consultant in January 2019, confirming a high annual operational cost impact,
following the opening of the playground. This is contingent on a number of factors which vary
depending on the sensitivity of the inputs used, including levels-of-service, whole-of-life costs for
various elements and frequency of maintenance required for the landscaping and play
equipment.

Project staff are continuing to develop a better understanding of the potential capital and
operational costs for the playground, and options for best mitigating Council’s risks. Research
into other, similar-sized playgrounds recently delivered by both government and private
developers in Southeast Queensland (including the Sunshine Coast) indicated a number of areas
for playground management that could be contracted outside of Council operations. As such, it
was felt an EOI process for project delivery that packages together the remaining design
requirements, the overall construction and a follow-up period of maintenance (2 years has been
nominated) would lead to a better outcome for Council in terms of mitigating financial risk, and
allow a strong understanding of what the exact maintenance requirements and costs would be
prior to the playground being handed back to Council. A Design-Construct-Maintain (or DCM)
contracting model carried out by a suitably capable contractor would be best developed via an
EOI process.

3.    LGGSP Grant-funding

Council successfully applied for grant-funding through the State Government 2019-2021 Local
Government Grants and Subsidies Program (LGGSP), with the project receiving its first payment
of funds in July 2019. Contingent on this funding is the requirement to have the project completed
by June 2021. There is concern that entering into a standard public tender process may not
result in successful tenders from the market, given the highly bespoke nature of the project
delivery requirements and associated risks on pricing, scheduling, quality and maintenance. A
failure of the tender process would lose several months of time out of this required delivery
schedule, placing significant pressure on the project as a revised procurement strategy is
developed (refer further discussion in Section 4). Current scheduling of activities necessary for
procuring and delivering the project allows enough to time to undertake an EOI process, provided
this commences by September 2019. This is therefore considered a lower risk-strategy from a
procurement and scheduling perspective.




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