Tiburon's town council has signed off on an $812,363 construction contract to rebuild the Bel Aire Play Area, a 0.64-acre neighborhood park connected to Karen Way, even after bids came in about 29% higher than the town originally expected to pay. The vote, taken on September 2, moves the project toward construction.
The council awarded the contract to W.R. Forde Associates Inc., a Richmond-based civil engineering and infrastructure firm, according to the Marin Independent Journal. With design and other associated costs folded in, the total project price tag now sits at a little over $1 million, up sharply from the $470,000 figure town staff had originally penciled in. Tiburon Mayor Jon Welner was absent from the vote.
The 0.64-acre Bel Aire mini-park is in Tiburon, Marin County. The rebuilt version will include updated accessible paths widened to better accommodate mobility devices and strollers, along with improved seating and picnic areas, updated signage, and landscaping with native plantings, per the same account from the Marin Independent Journal.
How the Estimate Ballooned
Tiburon landed on final designs for Bel Aire back in March, after the town council approved $111,166 for Santa Rosa-based design firm Carlile Macy Inc. to produce final plans and construction bid documents, as reported by The Ark. That contract was part of a larger $155,544 design award covering both Bel Aire and the nearby Cypress Hollow Park. By June, when the project went out to bid, Carlile Macy's own estimate had already climbed to as much as $600,491 including contingency — and the bids that eventually came back still ran well above that mark.
David Eshoo told the council that material costs had been increasing on a monthly basis, and that the project team had tried to trim expenses wherever feasible. He added that Carlile Macy was not surprised by the increase, framing it as a reflection of broader cost pressure hitting municipal construction projects across the region rather than a design failure specific to Bel Aire.
Not every council member was satisfied with that explanation. Jack Ryan said he was frustrated by the cost estimate and pressed for future park projects to come with more accurate figures, even as he ultimately supported moving forward with Bel Aire. Holli Thier asked directly about the discrepancy between the bids and the original cost estimate, while also calling the project three years of hard work by the town council, the Parks, Open Space and Trails Commission, staff, consultants, and the community. She said the accessibility improvements and widened pathways would transform the community.
Paying for It: Reserves, Then Donations
The Bel Aire project draws its funding from the town's Park Development and Old Rail Trail Reserve Fund, which held roughly $1.25 million as of March, according to The Ark's reporting on the town's design timeline. The council approved a budget amendment on September 2 to cover the higher-than-expected costs, and members indicated the town would lean on donations before dipping further into town funds. Some residents have already signaled interest in raising money to help close the gap. Alice Fredericks acknowledged the project ended up costing more than expected but said it was still worth pursuing.
Tiburon has held community meetings and surveys on its park projects, work that informed the town's parks planning. Bel Aire is one of four park projects moving toward construction under the town's Parks and Recreation Master Plan, with town staff initially estimating the combined construction cost across all four sites at $6.15 million, per The Ark's coverage of the town's capital pipeline.
More Big-Ticket Projects Still to Come
The remaining projects still ahead include Cypress Hollow Park, where officials are planning a 3,000-square-foot play area, a 50% expansion over its current 2,000-square-foot footprint. Also in the pipeline are the Belveron Mini Park and a much larger overhaul of the former sanitation ponds site near McKegney Green, preliminarily estimated to cost $2.38 million for features including a basketball court, beach volleyball courts, and an outdoor lounge along the Richardson Bay lineal park system.
Those looming price tags have made park spending a live issue in Tiburon's November municipal election, where five candidates are competing for three open council seats. The election has also focused on parks, financial transparency, and housing.
