COEUR d'ALENE - The Coeur d'Alene City Council accepted the lowest McEuen Field project bid Thursday, selecting Contractors Northwest Inc.'s $14.8 million submittal.

It means the project is ready to get under way after years of planning and public discourse, passing 4 to 3 - the tally nearly every vote related to the project has been the last 15 months.

"It's almost surreal," said Doug Eastwood, parks director, after the vote. "All the meetings and discussions that we've had and we're now finally to the point where the contract has been awarded. We're excited. We have a local contractor who I think is equally excited. Let's go."

Coeur d'Alene-based CNI submitted the lowest base bid Tuesday of the six contractors who applied for the downtown construction job.

Thursday's special call meeting officially approved the contract that was expected to pass after Tuesday's numbers came in. CNI's base bid, which provides the bulk of the park amenities, was $14.6 million. The contract increased to $14.8 when a couple of add alternate components were added in; a Front Avenue promenade from Fifth to Sixth streets and a concrete intersection at Fourth Street and Front Avenue.

"We're pleased to have the contract and we're anxious to get started," said Dean Haagenson, CNI CEO, who attended the meeting and was congratulated by officials after the vote.

The first day of construction is expected to be March 18. The contract allows construction until next spring, with benchmarks having to be met along the way, including the parking structure by November.

"There's hoops to jump through right now, hurdles to get started," Haagenson said. "The schedule for the garage especially is extremely tight so we can't waste time up front; we've got to get under way."

The city had estimated between $15 million and $16 million while it awaited bids, having secured roughly $16 million.

After the meeting in the library Community Room, project supporters mingled and hugged, saying they were excited to begin the project in earnest.

"There have been a lot of benchmarks but this is the one that proved the consultants right about approximately what it would cost," said Mayor Sandi Bloem, whose vote Thursday - as it has always been the last year - was the fourth vote of approval for moving the project forward. "We're ready to go and we're going to see things happen. It's no longer just on paper."

The park design had been under the public microscope for just over two years, and the City Council had been divided on the topic over the last 15 months after council members and project opponents Dan Gookin, Steve Adams and Ron Edinger easily won their elections.

But the meeting lasted about 40 minutes, a fraction of what other McEuen Field meetings have lasted the last two years.

"It's a little deflating, of course," said Gookin, who voted against the contract along with Edinger and Adams, but said he will monitor the project's schedule and any possible cost overruns. "I never went to sleep at night thinking it wouldn't happen."

He said he didn't elaborate much on his reasons for opposing the contract Thursday because everything had been said in prior meetings, such as how he opposed using urban renewal funds to pay for a bulk of the project. The day was for park supporters to celebrate, he said, and if the park proves unpopular, future elections would spell that out.

"We pretty much knew it was going forward," he said. "It's 4 to 3 - that's the long and short of it."

But Councilman Mike Kennedy, who voted in favor of the contract, said he's eager to see the "legacy project" completed. Not only will it be a grand park, he said, but all the controversy surrounding it will be forgotten, just as the controversy around other projects like the Kroc Center and the library was.

"Right now, you don't hear those" complaints, he said.

Council members Deanna Goodlander and Woody McEvers also voted in favor of it.

The City Council also voted 4-3 to approve an amendment to its agreement with the Lake City Development Corp., to reflect the urban renewal agency's additional $4.1 million in funds for the park project. The agency has committed about $15.6 million total.