Throughout the larger skatepark development process, your project managers (usually the City or Parks Department) will likely hire two companies: a skatepark designer and a skatepark builder.
The method for hiring each is a bit different. First, it’s important to understand a simple public bidding process.
The City has a project, and they want companies to provide them with ideas on how much it will cost to build that thing. So the City defines the project carefully (this is where your skatepark designer comes in). The project becomes a set of blueprints and a stack of papers that define everything about it (the “specifications”). The scope of the project is constrained by the amount of funds available for construction. (The designer is good at designing a project that can be built within a specific budget.)
The project is publicized on the City’s website on a page just for public projects. A skatepark company encounters the project announcement and asks itself: Are we interested in bidding on this project, and do we meet the requirements? If the company answers yes to both, they put together their best estimate and submit it to the City before the deadline. This proposal includes a description of the company’s experience, cost estimate to design and/or build the park, and any other information required by the City.
After the deadline, the City should have bids from several companies. Each bid package is carefully reviewed to ensure that they meet the requirements. All of the qualified bidders are then arranged by bid. The lowest bidder should be awarded the project. With good planning, the lowest bidder is someone that the entire skateboarding community is thrilled to be working with.
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