Murrysville still seeking consultant for amphitheater project
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Officials on Wednesday will consider advertising a more specific request for a consultant to help plan an outdoor amphitheater near Murrysville Community Park.
Despite a $299,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, council members opted to delay construction of the amphitheater last spring, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic, but also because the proposals they received were a bit too elaborate.
“They were just a little bit beyond the scope of work that we’d intended for a consultant to take on,” said Murrysville Recreation Director Carly Greene. “They were beyond what our intended costs were, too.”
Both municipal Chief Administrator Jim Morrison and Greene said previous consultants did not recognize the amount of in-house work Murrysville officials planned to do.
“The consultants were bidding on taking on the entire project, rather than portions of it, like we had expected.”
The state grant does not expire until 2022, and in the spring — with no real idea when any kind of larger-scale social event would be possible — council did not feel the need to rush the project.
The plan is to build a pre-fabricated amphitheater, part of the third phase of Murrysville Community Park improvements, on a 4.5-acre parcel off Wiestertown Road. The pre-fabricated structures have popped up in several local areas including Hempfield and a smaller version in Jeannette.
Staff opted to bring in a consultant to help with things such as solar power, planning a pedestrian walkway and a parking area.
“We’re going to discuss re-advertising the request for proposals, which has been rewritten to be more specific,” Greene said.
Council will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Meetings are broadcast on Comcast local access Channel 19 and livestreamed at Murrysville.com.
Click here for council’s full Jan. 20 agenda.