Sewer project bids sought

Following an update by Gary Davis of Bartlett and West Engineers, the Board of Aldermen on Monday approved authorizing the engineering firm to advertise for bids for the 2016 sanitary sewer project.

Plans are to advertise bids beginning Dec. 14. A pre-bid meeting is set for Jan. 4, with bids to be opened Jan. 18. Bids will be brought before the council on Feb. 6.

The project, estimated to cost about $673,000, involves almost 3,000 linear feet of gravity sewer and 20 manholes. It involves areas on East Howard, East Smith, South Hodges, South Taylor and South Randolph streets in Ward 1, and West Versailles and South Moniteau in Ward 2. All easements are recorded. Construction is planned to begin March 20 and be completed by July 2.

For the northwest quarter sewer projects, there is no status change. Discussions are ongoing with property owners. That project is not ready for the design phase to begin.

The backhoe used by the Water and Wastewater Department is inoperable, according to Supervisor Kyle Wirts. The preliminary estimate on the amount to repair the machine is $14,000. Since the machine is 15 years old, with an estimated 9,000 hours on it, there is some question of whether to spend that much money on it. The cost of a new backhoe is estimated to be between $80,000 and $100,000, and it would be the next budget year before a new one could be purchased. Wirts was instructed to see what the repair costs are at several different repair facilities. When not in use by the Street Department, its backhoe could be available. There is also smaller one which can be used for smaller jobs.

The council was asked by Recreation Supervisor Jim Deeken to consider the possibility of constructing a city-owned facility for the indoor recreation program. The building would include basketball courts and an indoor track. With the heavy use of the school gyms, it has become more difficult to schedule games and practices. Although several members of the council expressed a desire to completely pay off the money owed on the renovations for the city-owned swimming pool facility before beginning such a project, a committee will look into the cost and possible location for such a facility. The pool work should be paid off on March 31, 2022. About $105,000 is owed on it.

Due to the first Monday in January being a holiday, the next regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 3 in the council chamber.