City awards water contract

April 02, 2008 02:20 pm

— By PAUL LORENZ
paul.lorenz@mcleansborotimesleader.com
McLEANSBORO — The City Council awarded a contract Monday to install a water main loop to serve a new supportive living facility and the surrounding area.
A&L Construction Co. Inc., Ewing, was the low bidder on the project, which will serve not only the Fox Meadows supportive living facility — ground work for which is under way on South Marshall Street — but also the soon-to-be-expanded Hamilton Memorial Hospital, the city swimming pool, and other residential and commercial water customers in the area, city officials said.
The project calls for an 8-inch water main loop, and “the goal is to (eventually) have 8-inch main all the way around the city,” Mayor Dick Deitz said. The project will include three fire hydrants, “but we have a couple of others in mind,” engineer Coy Cockrum of Lawrence A. Lipe & Associates, Benton, said.
A&L’s low base bid of $98,561 was the only one of six bids opened March 27 that was less than $100,000. The other five bids ranged from approximately $113,000 to $135,000.
Almost the entire cost of the water main project — everything but the engineering costs — will be covered by a grant from the Delta Regional Authority, Randy Dauby, president of the Fox Meadows board of directors, reminded the council on Monday. The grant was approved last October.
The city will pay the project cost, then be reimbursed from the grant, Dauby said.
The council’s vote to award the contract to A&L — which the city has used on previous projects — was unanimous.
Fox Meadows received approval from the state in 2005 to build a 41-unit supportive living facility in the 600 block of South Marshall Street, between the Food Park grocery store and Hamilton Memorial Nursing Center.
Hamilton Memorial Hospital District continues to look toward an $18.5 million expansion and renovation of its hospital and nursing center. Construction work on that project is expected to begin by mid-April, Dauby, the hospital district’s chief executive officer, said.

In other City Council business Monday:

Donation approved
The council voted 5-1 to approve a $100 donation to the annual crappie tournament at the city reservoir. Alderman Dennis Crain cast the lone dissenting vote, noting the city’s customary donation to other organizations in recent years has been $50.

Home permit OK’d
The council approved a request to place a new double-wide sectional home in the 700 block of O’Henry Street; the petitioner is Christina Summerville.