CAPTION: At the Hutchinson City Council meeting on December 17, City Engineer Evan Patterson presented 3D renderings of how the Avenue B area will look after construction on the Woodie Seat freeway is complete. CREDIT CITY OF HUTCHINSON DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
By Kate Irelan
City engineers presented bids to the Hutchinson City Council during the regular meeting on Dec. 17 for Woodie Seat Phase II plan sidewalks, 30th Street concrete and asphalt and removal of the Atrium parking lot. The council approved all three bids.
Evan Patterson, city engineer, recommended a revised bid from Kansas Concrete for work on the second phase of the Woodie Seat construction. After getting feedback from SW Bricktown residents about including a bicycle path under Avenue C bridge, Patterson will work on widening the path to 10 feet to allow for multiple uses, lighting and other amenities.
“Our goal is to connect the various areas that citizens highlighted with repaired sidewalks by 2026. We have a couple of 3D views of what the ends of Avenue B will look like,” said Patterson.
The bid from Kansas Concrete came in at the lowest but did not meet the bid requirements for the Kansas Department of Transportation. Patterson and his group originally recommended the bid from Dondlinger & Sons Construction. They met with Kansas Concrete to talk about the deficiencies in their bid, and Kansas Concrete revised their bid to meet the requirements. Patterson revised his recommendation to the city to accept the bid from Kansas Concrete in the amount of $3,584,221.72, and the council unanimously approved the bid.
Mayor Greg Fast asked that the city engineering staff consider making a trailhead access at the end of Avenue A and putting lights on the water tower.
Patterson then talked to the council about the construction on West 30th Street from Main Street to the intersection at 30th and Adams. Plans are to remove the merge lane on the East end and add a multi-use trail on the North and some waterline and storm sewer work at Adams and 30th.
This project will require temporary road closures and detour routes down to 17th and Monroe and closing the intersection at 30th and Adams and East end of Carlton. The duration of the project will be about 6 weeks. The council approved Patterson’s recommendation to accept Procon Construction’s bid for concrete and asphalt as the lowest responsible bid at $675,476.30. Council Member Jon Richardson abstained, citing that he had conversations where he didn’t feel comfortable voting.
Director of Community Development Matt Williams presented a motion to approve a change order to the contract with Kansas Concrete to remove the parking lot at the Atrium in the amount of $124,860.00 and the board unanimously approved the change order.
“The original hope was to preserve the parking lot for future use of the site, but a building official with the city determined that the parking lot is already deteriorating and will be compromised more with all the heavy equipment being used to demolish the Atrium,” Williams said.
The site will eventually become a grass field. According to Enrico Villegas, city manager, the property owner of the Atrium could be assessed for the cost, or the city could assume the costs.
The council meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at 5:30 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 125 East Avenue B. To access meeting agendas and minutes, visit the City of Hutchinson website, https://www.hutchgov.com/270/Agendas-Minutes
Meetings are streamed live as well as archived on the City of Hutchinson YouTube channel, they can also be viewed on Facebook Live and Cox Channel 7.
