Main St. project bids to be awarded next week
If all goes according to plan, next Tuesday the City of Hillsboro will choose the company to do the Main Street revitalization project.
The pre-bid meeting for the project was Tuesday, March 18, and bids will be awarded on March 25, the City Council learned at its biweekly meeting on Tuesday.
The city has asked construction companies to submit two different bids: one bid with the ending date of July 25, and one bid with the ending date of Sept. 5.
Why the difference in dates? Some contractors have said that the price of the project could be considerably lower if they had the extra six weeks, said Steve Garrett, city administrator.
But some councilmembers are concerned that Sept. 5 would be too late. The county fair is the first week of August, and the Arts and Crafts Festival is Sept. 20.
Having the project set to be completed just two weeks before Arts and Crafts is a scary prospect, said Len Coryea and Matt Hiebert.
Businesses on Main won't like the time extension either, Hiebert said.
Mayor Delores Dalke said that some contractors were worried that the July date wouldn't give them enough time to complete the project. But the city has the final decision and can turn down all bids if it wants, she said.
And the city needs to save more than just a few dollars to make the later date a worthwhile option.
"If savings aren't significant, it's not worth it," Garrett said.
The council also gave the OK to move all of Main Street's indoor water meters outside, with the work done at the city's expense.
Those indoor meters are there now at no fault of the current owners, Garrett said. Moving them outside would benefit the city, and the cost is minimal.
At least five or six buildings on Main have their water meters inside, Dalke said. When the city needs to read the meter, someone must be there to let them inside.
In other council business:
— The council approved the $22,100 purchase of a new wood chipper. The one the city uses now is a "tub chipper," which is old and dangerous and doesn't meet safety standards, Garrett said.
By trading in the old one the city will get $1,800 off of the price of the new one. The $22,100 total includes that trade-in.
— The city is still working with Alltel to install a cellular phone tower on the northeast side of the former AMPI property.
Local pilots have flown over other cell phone towers, and they've decided that a tower of 120 to 150 feet won't be a problem for them, Garrett said. However, they would like lights placed on the tower.
The Alltel representative will attend the council's next regular meeting.
— The city is currently searching for a museum director, who will officially be an employee of the city.
— The council approved a $8,500 payment to EBH and Associates of Lawrence, the company that is mapping out the city's water line system.
— The council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, March 25, at 4 p.m. During that meeting they'll discuss bids for the city's insurance policies and the final houses of the housing rehab program.
