Aquatic center contract is on agenda
By BILL SHEA, Messenger staff writerThe planned aquatic center and the recent audit conducted by state officials are on the agenda for the Fort Dodge City Council on Monday.
A discussion of the search for a new animal control officer is also planned.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the Municipal Building, 819 First Ave. S.
Council members are expected to award a contract for the construction of the aquatic center near the intersection of 32nd Street and 10th Avenue North. Construction should begin as soon as possible after the contract is awarded. The center is expected to open June 1, 2010.
The center will have:
An eight-lane lap pool with diving boards and slides
A shallow pool for young children featuring water toys and a big bucket that dumps water on bathers
A pool with three large slides connected to a channel called a lazy river
The center, an adjoining park and a 250-space parking lot will be created on 23 acres donated by Tom and Norma Schmoker, of Fort Dodge.
Last August, city voters gave their blessing to borrowing up to $8.95 million to pay for the project. That debt will be paid off with property tax revenue.
Expo Pool on North Seventh Street will be closed after the new aquatic center opens.
Also on Monday, the council will hear a presentation from Susan Battani, director of the financial audit division in the office of state Auditor David Vaudt.
In a report released last week, Vaudt's staff wrote that Fort Dodge officials did not follow proper competitive bidding procedures when they awarded contracts in 2006 and 2007 to McClure Engineering Co. Mayor Terry Lutz is the president of that firm.
The auditors contend that the same error occurred when a contract was awarded in 2006 to MER Engineering Inc. while that company's leader, Eldon Rossow, was the acting city engineer.
The report also questions some management of the tax increment financing accounts.
The audit found no evidence of missing, stolen or improperly spent money.
The auditors wrote that city officials are doing the right thing by trying to assert control over the investment of a $1.3 million gift to the public library.
Fort Dodge and Webster County officials are working on a new contract to provide animal control services. That effort will be the subject of a workshop discussion Monday, but no final decisions will be made.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net
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boatassembler
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05-11-09 5:14 PM
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Sportsman: the election was last FALL Get over it and on with your life!
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SPORTSMAN
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05-11-09 12:15 PM
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All this money and this center will only be used 3 months out of the year if that....Tax payers hold onto your wallet cause this city has it!!
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richhigg
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05-10-09 6:10 PM
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Paladin, they don't have to wait until monday night, here are the bids: Christensen Construction Company, $7,453,500. Pender, Nebraska. Henkel Construction Company, $7,649,660 Mason City, Iowa. Sande Construction Company, $7,764,107 Humboldt, Iowa. and the company, Christian Co. from Pender, Nebraska, will get the bid. Paladin, sorry I beat you to the punch.
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thendrickson
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05-10-09 5:56 PM
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I hope the same lawyer who told them the TIF accounts were kosher isn;t advising them on the legalities of the bidding process.
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thendrickson
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05-10-09 5:51 PM
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By the way what's interest rate you're going to have to pay on the bonds? Anyone?
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thendrickson
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05-10-09 5:50 PM
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I'm sure most people who live the in the area would be ecstatic if you'd just get the streets put back together and fix the ones that got torn up from all the extra traffic from the detour.
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Fairplay
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05-10-09 3:19 PM
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Yup Duke...you're right. In the biggest conspiracy since the Kennedy assasination, the votes were intentionally miscounted in order for the bond issue to pass. And to think it took someone of your prowess to finally catch them. You should write a book and maybe sell rights to a movie.
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duke
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05-10-09 1:09 PM
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The voters gave their blessings on the A/C ?. The vote was failing and then they decided that they forgot to count the absentee votes....HMMMMM !
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Paladin
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05-10-09 12:14 PM
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Bids for ths AC went out last Tuesday. Companies in Humboldt, Mason City, and Nebraska have bid. Low bidder was $500,000 under allowing for a full scale AC. Watch for the results after Monday's meeting, or at the meeting if you go.
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ABC123
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05-10-09 11:31 AM
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In light of the audit report, I hope this means the contract for the aquatic center must go out for competitive bid.
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812bowler
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05-10-09 10:31 AM
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I would like to know how kids that are within walking distance to the A.C. are supposed to safely get across 32nd street. This question has never been answered by city representatives. This is a fatality waiting to happen.
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boatassembler
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05-10-09 2:47 AM
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My only question would be was Lutz the mayor when the contracts were awarded in 2006 and 2007? If so I still wonder about conflicts of interests.
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boatassembler
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05-10-09 2:44 AM
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The whole MER Engineering and McClure Enginering items smell fishy. Haven't these people ever heard of conflict of interests? If this would have been done on a state or federal level all you know what would have broken out.
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