Council nixes event center repair bids, seeks new plan

The Kimball City Council rejected a pair of bids for renovation of the Kimball Event Center and decided to seek a new repair plan at the Aug. 18 regularly scheduled meeting.

The council expected a cost of just under $700,000 for upgrades according to the engineer’s estimate. Some of those upgrades are necessary to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The council received two bids at the meeting. A bid of $769,700 came from Construction Specialists, Inc., of Cheyenne, Wyo., and a bid of $900,972 came from Paul Reed Construction & Supply of Gering. Both bids were well over what was expected for the renovation, including making handicapped restrooms available to the public and adding bathrooms near the fitness center.

“The main purpose of this is to address some of the ADA issues we have, with not having sufficient enough restrooms that are ADA compliant that are available to the public during events,” City Administrator Daniel Ortiz said.

Ortiz said the slope of the ramp leading into and out of the ballroom is too steep as well, a concern that also needs to be rectified.

Additional updates the city hopes to make include carpet, paint and lighting updates. Original plans also included removing an old ceiling that Ortiz said contributed to “an old bowling alley look.”

Ortiz said the plans included adding new lighting to current lighting, offering options to those using the facilities.

“There is probably a few options we have, including tweaking the lighting fixtures,” Ortiz said. “Everything was supposed to be LED.”

Plumbing, a major expense in the original plans, would have to be updated to allow for restrooms to be built in the current storage area, with access from the fitness center as well.

Ortiz said that once renovations begin on the building, the city will be required to bring it up to the current fire code.

“The fire suppression system would run down the west end of the building,” Ortiz said. “The fire suppression is probably the most expensive component that we just can’t get away from.”

Additional plans include demolishing the current bar and the kitchenette in one of the meeting rooms.

Both rooms would have been squared off to make them more functional and user-friendly.

“It was a total of four weeks, if I am not mistaken, that it was up for bid,” Ortiz added. “We were hoping the bids would come in closer to $650,000. My recommendation would be to reject the bids at this time.”

Ortiz further suggested that the city reconsider the final design and find ways to cut the cost of the project while maintaining the primary focus.

The council voted to reject both bids and move forward with Ortiz’s suggestion to rework the plans and rebid the project with a lower expense.

The council also approved a request from Robert Barrett to subdivide his property south of the cemetery into two separate lots after the planning commission recommended the council’s approval.

“Essentially the boundaries follow the old drainage ditch, which essentially cuts off these two parcels from accessing the road and utilities,” Ortiz said.

Typically this kind of issue would be subject to a replat. Since the area in question was never subdivided, the council would have to approve a resolution to do so. The council voted to approve the subdivision.

Board President John Morrison presided over the meeting in Mayor Keith Prunty’s absence. Board member James Shields was also excused from the meeting.