HUMBOLDT — The news that no bids were received to upgrade Humboldt’s water treatment plant was met with mixed feelings Monday night.
On the one hand, it will have to be done sometime soon. But on the other hand, it would put the city in arrears by about $750,000 for what it had budgeted for the overall $16 million project.
Council members approved spending $12.5 million to NPL Construction of Topeka for laying water distribution lines, contingent upon approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and $746,000 to Maguire Iron of Sioux Falls, S.D., to rehabilitate its three water storage tanks.
BG Consultants, engineers for the water system improvements, recommended a little more than $1.5 million be allotted for the water treatment system, of which the current budget allows $767,000.
“We’ll sit tight on the water treatment plant,” said Cole Herder, city administrator. “We believe we can hold off for a while — the intake has been an issue for 18 years — or we can do the work piecemeal.”
Two grants are instrumental to funding the work: A $3 million grant from the Kansas Water Office and another $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, leaving the city to repay a $9.5 million USDA loan. Steadily increasing water rates will help meet that goal.
Roof replacement
Council members voted to go with Sharp Restoration of Chanute to replace its bubbling and cracking roof for $88,250.
Boren’s Roofing proposed to replace the roof for almost $140,000 with a 20-year warranty. Meridian Roofing Systems of Topeka bid $92,555 with a 15-year warranty.
Garrett Sharp told Council members his crews spray polyurethane foam to seal the surface followed by two coats of white acrylic. The product comes with a 15-year warranty.
Bandstand woes
Cracks in the underpinnings of the city bandstand have Council members worried.
“It’s hard to tell whether something big is going on, whether it’s structural or cosmetic,” said Herder. “I don’t have the necessary expertise.”
The one-and-a-half story octagonal bandstand has concrete pillars on eight corners and two concrete staircases.
The bandstand was erected in 1907 to celebrate the town’s 50th anniversary. In 2014, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In response to a request for proposals to assess the bandstand, Herder said he received a proposal from Professional Engineering Consultants of Wichita for $4,000, which would include recommendations on how to stabilize the structure.
Before committing with the Wichita engineers, Mayor Nobby Davis suggested visiting with experts at Monarch Cement as to the bandstand’s condition.
“I don’t want to pay $4,000 just to have someone say, ‘Yep, it’s going to fall down,’” he said.
