By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
City-owned parking lots at Riverside Center and off Third St. behind Two Brothers in Decatur will be getting a fresh coat of asphalt this year as the result of decisions made by city council at its latest meeting.
City Operations Manager Jeremy Gilbert said at the meeting that discussions began last summer on pinpointing resurfacing needs at several parking lots, including the two mentioned above.
It was initially proposed to do those two lots and the one at the MERIT Center, along with its curved driveway.
A few months back, council approved installing a new HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) system at the MERIT Center. Most of that work has been completed.
However, in order to space out budgeted funding it was decided at that time to also approve an expenditure for a much-needed chiller system. Since it can’t be installed until later this year, the city accepted a preferred bid, locking in the price, but will not have to make the payment until at the time of installation.
At the recent meeting, a discussion was held on whether to do two parking lots this year or three, knowing that the chiller bill will be coming due, likely next fall.
“Why don’t you hold off on the MERIT Center parking lot until the chiller is paid for,” suggested former councilman Wiley Sirk, a member of the MERIT board who attended the meeting.
“I kinda like doing the Riverside and Two Brothers lots and holding off on the other one,” said board of works member Craig Coshow, also a member of the MERIT board.
So it was decided to accept bids by Brooks Construction to do the Riverside Center lot and the lot off Third St. behind Two Brothers, and hold off on the MERIT lot until later.
Brooks bid $36,490 and Wayne Asphalt bid $37,925 to repave the lot off Third St. The bids for the Riverside lot – “The worst one,” according to Operations Manager Jeremy Gilbert – came in at $66,895 from Brooks and $75,275 from Wayne.
Brooks said it could hold those prices for only 14 days, so it was decided to accept the low bids and sign contracts.
Brooks had also bid $69,142 for the MERIT Center lot, while Wayne Asphalt bid $75,275. Those figures now go by the wayside.
Council had budgeted $70,000 from its Riverboat (gaming) fund and $115,000 from its Rainy Day fund to cover the parking lot projects.
