Emporia city commissioners approved a bid to purchase new outdoor warning sirens at their regular meeting Wednesday evening.
The city took bids for the new sirens in March, but the project was put on hold so officials could find out whether Emporia would qualify for grants to help pay for the sirens.
Emporia Police Chief Gary Smith said Wednesday that applications for grant money were being held at the federal level, and that it would be at least the end of the year before the city could find out if the project qualifies for grant money.
Commissioners unanimously expressed concerns about putting off buying the new sirens any longer, and voted 5-0 to accept a bid from Blue Valley Public Safety for $149,559 for the new system. The new sirens will be capable of providing voice notification at the Jones Acquatic Center.
Bruce Fisher of Blue Valley Public Safety estimates a four to six week delivery for the new system, and with good weather the sirens can be installed and running five to seven days after that.
Commissioners also authorized Mayor Jeff Longbine to sign a contract to purchase the Robinson’s Lawn Service building and grounds in the 2200 block of West South Avenue for $128,000.
According to assistant city manager Mark McAnarney, the property was formerly owned by the city before it was taken over for the lawn care service. The city already owns the adjoining land.
City officials are considering using the grounds and the buildings as an impound area for the police department and for equipment storage for the public works department.
Commissioners also awarded a combined bid of $535,736 to APAC-KS, Inc., Shears Division of Emporia for the 2009 street rehabilitation project and for the project to resurface 8th Avenue from Constitution Street to Mechanic Street. APAC’s bid was the higher of two bids received for the project — Killough Construction, Inc. of Ottawa submitted a $524,862 bid — but the commission chose to award the bid to APAC to keep the work local.
In contrast, out of five bids for contracts for repairs at Fire Station 2, the two local companies offering proposals were the most pricey. Emig and Associates offered a $35,900 bid and B G Consultants offered a $36,150 bid for the project; commissioners in this case decided to go with the lowest proposal of $25,875 by Sabatini Architects, Inc. of Lawrence.
In other business, commissioners voted to increase the city’s wage scale for part time employees from $7.35 to $10.23 per hour to $8 to $13 per hour.
According to city staff, this is the first increase in wage rates for part time employees in seven or eight years.
The commission also approved an ordinance exempting the David Traylor Zoo from the prohibition of serving alcohol on public property for a fund-raising event to be held Sept. 19. The event, sponsored by the Rotary Club, will raise money to benefit the zoo’s lemur exhibit.
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Good deal on the tornado sirens, hope they are installed before the first frost of the season.
May 21, 2009 at 11:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )