HUMBOLDT — The new Humboldt City Hall should be ready for business in late October.
City Administrator Larry Tucker updated Humboldt councilmen Monday on the ongoing renovations as they approved a number of items necessary before city offices are moved.
Tucker said the building’s heating and air-conditioning upgrades would not be done until later this month, prompting the city to extend its deadline for the building renovation’s contract until Oct. 13.
“If that work is done in a timely manner, we should be ready to start moving in in late October,” Tucker said.
Council members initially rejected, with a 4-4 vote, a bid from Kansas Communications Systems, Inc. of Chanute to install 25 telephone lines and 18 data lines for computers, citing objections with a dedicated after-hours phone line in the building lobby to contact Humboldt Police Department. All after-hours calls would be routed to the Allen County Critical Response Center, regardless of origin.
A second vote for the Kansas Communications bid, minus the direct line, was accepted unanimously. Tucker said he was unsure how much the $6,927 bid would be reduced without the added line.
Councilmen also accepted a bid from Jerry Hall Communications, Fredonia, to move radio communication systems to the new city hall when necessary, at a price of up to $1,400, the lower of two bids received.
Councilmen decided against installing security cameras and entry alarms, citing cost.
They did approve a $1,403 change order for Hofer and Hofer crews to remove a small countertop and vacuum tube system associated with the building’s second drive-through lane. “We aren’t going to need a second lane,” Tucker said.
Removing the countertop gives employees more working space in the cramped drive-through work station.
THE CITY will host a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday to examine bids for resurfacing three blocks of Central Street.
The city received only a single bid, for $34,726 from SE-KAN Asphalt Services of Gas, to level off certain areas of the street before applying a 1 1/2-inch layer of asphalt.
In recent months, SE-KAN crews removed existing asphalt on Central between Ninth and 12th streets to determine the condition of the road’s base.
The concrete base is considered stable, Councilman Sean McReynolds said, but has several cracks and would not be sufficient as a workable street without some type of overlay.
The council directed Tucker to contact other asphalt and concrete companies for bids prior to Monday’s meeting.
The council approved a contract with Dog House Concrete, LaHarpe, to install a valley gutter near Humboldt Elementary Charter School to improve water drainage along the school’s off-street parking area. The contract caps the price at $11,000.
The city is monitoring Kansas Department of Transportation’s proposal to replace portions of Bridge, 13th and Central Streets — considered arterial roads because they are used to enter and exit the city — using federal stimulus funding.
That project’s cost was estimated last year at $350,000. If approved, the city would be responsible for 20 percent, or about $70,000, or more if bids come in higher than estimated.
The city has the right to reject any bids, Tucker said.
Humboldt has about $80,000 in its consolidated street fund, with revenues coming from gasoline sales taxes.
“Those revenues have been down the past couple of years,” Tucker said, because motorists are buying less fuel.
In a related matter, council members approved a contract with the engineering firm of Cook, Flatt and Strobel, Topeka, to provide inspection services for the KDOT project if it is approved.
Having an inspector on hand is necessary to qualify for KDOT funding, McReynolds said.
The city is not obligated to pay the company the $49,399 estimated cost if the road project is not approved.
