Phase 4 Downtown Streetscape Bids Awarded

At a cost of almost double than was originally budgeted, the final phase of Downtown Streetscape will now happen after Sedalia Council approved the latest round of bids.

KAT Excavation, Inc., bid $1,425,905 on Phase 4 of the project, which will focus on the area south of Sixth Street to Fifth Street and from North Ohio to Main Street.

Another $148,301 will be spent with Triple C Underground, LLC, for water main relocations necessitated by Streetscape Phase 4.

The entire Phase 4 cost will be around $1,574,206, a far cry from the original project estimate of around $900,000.

City Administrator Kelvin Shaw noted that this was the second time the City requested bids on the project. The first round of bids were over budget as well.

“Do we scrap it? Do we re-bid it?” asked Shaw. He added that if the project is scrapped, he feels like it would be like wasted money on the sections already completed, with an unfinished piece in the middle of downtown Sedalia. He suggested the City “bite the bullet” and go for Phase 4 completion, with additional funds coming from TIF and a couple other sources.

Upwards of $750,000 can be generated through TIF (Tax Increment Financing), he noted. “We should use TIF as much as we can,” Shaw said.

Shaw further explained that contractors currently have more projects than they can hire workers for, and therefore weren't that interested in the Streetscape project.

Mayor John Kehde said that he realizes the latest rounds of bids were significantly over budget, “but it's imperative that we go on with this project.”

Although KAT is the primary contractor for Phase 4, Septagon is a subcontractor for the project, Shaw noted. Mayor Kehde said he was pleased that Septagon is involved.

A total of three ordinances were required to make it official, and the vote was five yes, three absent at Monday night's meeting with Tom Oldham, Andrew Dawson and Megan Page not present for the vote.