Sooner or later you're talking about real money. I thought of this when the bid for the construction of Pinecrest Park, at U.S. 1 and 124th Street, came in at $2,600,000, which is $950,000, or 27 percent, below the estimate of $3.5 million. I may be wrong, but I don't think you see an underbid of 27 percent on too many other contracts in this County.

Thanks to architect David Wolfberg, of Wolfberg, Alvarez & Associates, to landscape architect Bill O'Leary of O'Leary Partners and to our low bid contractor, MC Construction Group Inc. Pinecrest Park should be completed by October 25, so keep an eye out for the grand opening.

The Village has a number of projects underway, so here is a status report:

WATER 
Pinecrest will mail notices in the next 60 days to all residents who do not have County water, asking if they are interested in hooking up at a cost payable over 10 ­ 15 years. IF YOU WANT COUNTY WATER, please walk your neighborhood when you get your notice, encouraging your neighbors to respond. If we do not get a strong response, we cannot undertake this project.

SUNILAND PARK
Pinecrest is making a major effort to improve Suniland Park, to relieve the parking shortage, to provide a safe drop off and pick up area for the children and to keep cars out of the surrounding neighborhood. Pinecrest has two projects in the works.

Suniland Annex -- The closing of 130th Street from U.S. 1 to 83th Avenue and the building of a landscaped and buffered parking lot behind the Commercial Bank. This will create a new drop off for Suniland Park directly from U.S. 1 and eliminate access to the surrounding neighborhood. The contract for this work is being bid at this time, with the contract to be awarded at a March 24 Council meeting. Work should begin By April 15 and be completed, in time for football season, by August 1.

Suniland Park Renovations -- This month, the Council will review architectural presentations and select an architect to undertake a completely fresh look at Suniland Park in order to develop a sustainable master plan. Pinecrest has a pool of funds and grants totaling almost $750,000, to redo the lighting, landscaping, buildings and basketball courts at this old facility. The goal is to make Suniland Park as nice as the new Pinecrest Park will be.

STREET SIGN IDENTIFICATION 
A contract to redo all street signs in Pinecrest will be awarded at the February Council meeting, a project needed for both aesthetic and safety reasons. Next, a program to require and encourage residents to have clear house numbers on their homes, a must when law enforcement, fire -rescue and ambulances are trying to respond to an emergency. Are your house numbers clear?

ROAD RESURFACING 
Our ongoing road resurfacing is in progress at this time. We have almost resurfaced every street in Pinecrest which needed it. Our road money now will be spent for continued resurfacing and for road improvement, sidewalk, drainage and other projects around the Village.

PINECREST ELEMENTARY 
The soccer field project will be built this summer once a suitable location is agreed upon between the School Board and Pinecrest. Construction should begin by June 1 and be completed in time for school by August 31.

VETERANS WAYSIDE PARK 
Pinecrest is developing a plan to upgrade this neglected pocket park and the streets behind it, which are narrow and rutted. Public works is preparing a list of recommended improvements, which will be reviewed by the Council, and a bid for creation of plans and specifications will be considered at the February Council meeting.

POLLO TROPICAL ALLEY 
If you have ever driven through the pot-holed, uneven, pitted road behind Pollo Tropical and the old South Dixie Discount drugstore, you know that this is a high priority project for repair. Pinecrest has spent almost a year trying to confirm the ownership of this street/alley/right of way, which continues to be confusing. However, sooner or later, we are determined to fix it or require it to be fixed ­ and that means this budget year.

ADA COMPLIANCE 
Pinecrest continues to work on increasing compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. A bid for this work will be considered and awarded at the March Council meeting, with work to be done between April and September.