SUNDERLAND – Upgrades may soon turn Riverside Park into a kayaker’s destination, but supply chain problems are preventing the start of the work this year. Next year, the funds may be gone.

Town Administrator Geoffrey Kravitz explained at a recent Select Board meeting the town won a grant of Community Preservation Act funds three years ago to build a kayak kiosk, new baseball shed with shaded seating, update the bathrooms, pave pathways and do other site improvements. Those grant funds were then leveraged to attract additional money from the Park Commission.

“We did a bunch of designs, and were ready to go to bid this summer. That’s when construction materials went crazy,” Kravitz said. The bids were 63 percent higher than anticipated. “Unfortunately, because of the large discrepancy ... I recommend the board reject all the bids.”

Board member David J. Pierce made the motion to reject the bids, which passed 3-0. He also suggested breaking down the park project into pieces that would make the project more likely to run the gamut.

“Maybe [if we] take it in pieces,” Pierce said, “we can [wait] until the costs come back down to where they’re reasonable.”

Kravitz contacted the low bidder to enquire if the bid could be itemized into labor and materials, which may have aided in reconfiguring the project, but it wasn’t possible. Kravitz acknowledged that eliminating some of the pleasing elements of the design may be necessary.

“There are some aesthetic elements that are labor intensive, the screens, and the roof too,” Kravitz said. “The way it was designed, it’s a beautiful design...we just need to sharpen our pencils again.”

Pierce said, “We can do it in phases.”

Kravitz suggested prioritizing several elements of the park upgrade.

Kravitz said, “The cleanest [way] to get things done would be to do the kayak kiosk and the walkway, if that’s allowed. Then we have the designs for the rest room, for the shed, [and can] try to find another source of funding. We need to talk through the options...but I think what we’ll have to do is to reduce the scope.”

That may not sit well with those clutching the purse strings. Kravitz said the deadline for spending the funds earmarked for the Riverside Park project is next June 1, which puts the Town in a tough spot. The kayak kiosk won’t cost $90,000, as expected, and is  closer to $170,000. The bathroom upgrades might be left for later, as those funds may not be included. Then the town won’t be able to afford the kiosk.

Kravitz said, “The Parks Program they are not going to extend the deadline.”

“They must be running into the same issue all across the state with projects so we can’t be unique in that respect,” Pierce said.

“I just got an email from another town administrator” with the same problem, Kravitz said. “Is it worth writing a joint letter to the state saying, may we use some ARPA (American Recovery Plan Act) funds to increase the grant amount so that we can support all this. I replied, ‘Here’s a great example if you need one.’”

In the meantime, some of the minor work of the Riverside Park project will be accomplished, including repairs to the roof of the baseball shed.