Background 

As part of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, SandVenture was examined for possible upgrades and enhancements.  General concepts were developed for the possible upgrades along with a discussion on how the facility could be used throughout the year by the possible inclusion of a restaurant that could also serve users of the ice skating facilities. Also, it was recommended in Master Plan that a business plan be developed that could explore extending the hours of use of SandVenture. 

At their regular meeting on August 18, 2020 Council directed staff to post a Requests for Proposals for a feasibility study that would will analyze and develop the desired alternatives for renovations and improvements, consider the aquatic center integration into the larger adjacent city-owned park, consider and develop alternatives for any buildings on site and develop a business plan and model for the complex's operation.

Requests for Proposals

The request for proposals was issued on August 19, 2020 and firms were given until September 18, 2020 to respond. Two firms, Williams Architects based in Illinois and the Minneapolis office of Confluence Design submitted proposals and both proposals are attached to this report. 

The proposals were reviewed by a selection committee made up of staff from Parks and Recreation, Planning and Development, and Administration, as well as City Council Members Brennan and Contreras. It was the intent to have a review period which would include formal interviews, however due to the small number of submissions it was determined that this was not needed. 

Confluence's team includes Pros Consulting for the business plan, MSR Architects for building designs and USAquatics for the pool, which designed the original pool.

Next Steps

The selection committee recommends that the City Council award the contract to the Confluence Design as their team was most familiar with Shakopee, had extensive aquatics experience which included sand bottom pool experience, and offered a robust community engagement plan. 

After the contract is awarded staff will notify the consultant team and begin community engagement. Project completion is anticipated in Spring 2021.  Council will be updated by the team during the process.