Sioux City Council on Monday will award a $60,000 consulting services contract to Bolton & Menk, Inc., of Des Moines, Iowa, for survey, design, bidding and construction services for a goal patio project at the all-seasons park, 3800 Line Drive .

City documents stated the patio would be located near the park’s lodge and consist of an approximately 0.3-acre outdoor dining and entertainment space designed to welcome visitors and complement the park’s trails and recreational attractions.

According to the documents, the original concept for the park’s mountain bike park, which opened in mid-June, was to include an outdoor seating area. However, due to the project’s budget, the preliminary concept was scaled back to primarily focus on 10.5 miles of natural trails and skills course elements.

“As such, the project was offered to include only the construction of natural trails, pump track and tiny tot track with the progressive jump line bid as an alternative. The park amenities which included landscaping, shade structures and patio seating were eliminated,” the documents stated.

The patio destination will be a “tremendous addition” to Cone Park, which is already established as a “top destination for recreational tourism,” according to the documents. The park was awarded the “outstanding attraction” award by the Iowa Tourism Bureau and the Travel Federation of Iowa in 2019.

“The patio space can be used as a hangout for trail and park users. For the community, the outdoor space can be used for corporate parties, birthdays, small events and family gatherings. The proposed patio will create a hub for recreational activities with the potential to stimulate economic impact while adding an amenity which is not currently in our city park system,” the documents stated.

The mountain bike park is part of the Siouxland Regional Trail System, which was awarded $7 million in grant funding through Destination Iowa. The funding supports the construction of trail projects in Sioux City, Le Mars and Sergeant Bluff. Because the Phase 3 PlyWood Trail bid comes in significantly below the engineer’s estimate, the grant has a funding surplus, according to the documents. Phase 3 of the PlyWood Trail project is a shared-use path that will connect Sioux City to Hinton, beginning near the intersection of 46th Street and the Highway 75 southbound on-ramp. It will run north for just under 6 miles until it ends at Titan Road in Hinton.

“City staff contacted the grant management team with Destination Iowa to discuss the additional funding and to propose that the funding be used to support the landscaping, shade structures and patio seating that were removed from the preliminary concept. According to the discussion, the Destination Iowa team approved the use of the funds to be allocated to these projects,” the documents said.

In addition to the mountain bike trails, pump track and jump lines, the park also offers summer tubing, snow tubing, ice skating and a splash pad.