By Roger Sims, Journal staff
LA CYGNE – Following a special meeting the previous evening to open bids on construction of a new city fire station, the La Cygne City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday, May 3, to accept the bid of Hofer & Hofer & Associates Inc. for $911,900 to build the station at the northeast corner of Fourth and Sycamore streets.
With two of the five members of the council absent, councilmen Thomas Capp, Jerome Mitzner and Keith Stoker voted unanimously to award the bid. Danny Curtis and David Brenneman were absent.
With the contract for architectural services at just over $48,400, the total project cost is expected to be just over $960,300.
Hofer & Hofer & Associates Inc., based in Humboldt, Kan., had the lowest bid. Double K Construction, Mound City, was the second lowest bid.
Financing sources for the project include:
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, nearly $170,800;
First Option Bank Trust Fund grant award, $100,000;
Capital Improvement Reserve fund, $480,200; and
Public Building Commission revenue bond, $210,000.
Initially setting aside $272,200 from the capital improvement reserve for the project, the council voted to increase the amount by $208,000. That will leave about $337,000 remaining in that fund.
The council also voted to make the bond through the Public Building Commission a seven-year loan rather than a 10-year to pay off the debt faster. Depending on the interest rate when the paperwork is complete, the city is expected to pay between about $36,000 and $41,000 in interest over the seven-year period.
Mayor Debra Wilson said that the project had been 30 years in the making, and she said she expected the project to not add to taxes.
She also cited the importance of having a fire station in the city, and how it helps keep ISO fire protection ratings low, which in turn saves residents on insurance costs.
City Clerk Jodi Wade thanked the First Option Bank Trust Fund, the city’s Public Building Commission and the council for working together to make it happen.
The design plan calls for a 4,250-square-foot main fire station with an additional shell, which would be 1,500 square feet.
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