In a joint meeting with the Sedalia Park Board, the Sedalia City Council approved two major bids for the Heckart Community Center on Monday.

The low bid for pre-cast concrete walls around the pool was submitted by Coreslab Structures with a base bid of $1,756,000, with $23,000 alternate.

The low bid for a pre-engineered metal building, which covers the rest of the facility, was submitted by A. J. Mueller Construction Company with a base bid of $1,893,948.

The ordinance was approved by all members present (Jeff Leeman, Tom Oldham, Andrew Dawson, Bonita Nash, Bob Cross and Megan Page). Tollie Rowe and Charles Lowe were absent, according to a draft of the minutes provided by the City.

Park Board members voting yes included Jerry Case, Les Wolpers, Rhiannon Foster, Dan Vandyne, William Woolery, Roy Poynter and Kevin Thomas. Megan Simon and Kristy Woolery were absent from Monday's meeting, which was streamed live online by GoToWebinar.

City Administrator Kelvin Shaw noted that bids were opened Thursday, March 19. Both contracts have a 60-day window, which will help the architect design the building and make sure it is buildable, Shaw said.

Due to the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, financing has been delayed, it was noted.

The market has went up one point in three days and if taken to market now, the City would be paying 3.5 to 4 percent interest. If the contracts are approved, Staff will look for the right financing window. The pre-cast concrete has a short window and if that window is missed, it would be a significant expense.

Park & Recreation Director Amy Epple added that the first payment of $40,000 would be due May 15 and the next $40,000 would be due June 15 and that both bids came in under budget with a savings of approximately 11.5 percent.

Councilman Page inquired on how long the bids were open. City Administrator Shaw stated that the bids were sent out with an RFP (request for proposal) for three weeks ending on March 19, at which time they were opened.

All of the architects and construction manager are comfortable with both companies and found no reason to move off the low bids and staff recommended approval of the contracts.

Park Director Amy Epple added that both companies have completed large projects of this size.

"I am very pleased with the bids that were approved on Monday, bids came in under budget by a little under half a million from what we were planning on," Epple commented to KSIS. "Both companies have a good reputation, have worked on projects at this size or larger, therefore I am very comfortable with us taking the low bid."

When asked about the delay in financing, Epple responded "As for the COVID crisis, it does make me very cautious, but I am comfortable where we stand for the next couple of months moving forward and being able to cover our cost until the financing is finalized by the city," she said.

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