The Hutchinson City Council spent more than an hour Tuesday hearing from the public and again discussing the pros and cons of a proposed project to modify the Woodie Seat Freeway inside Hutchinson.
In the end, there was no change from a vote two weeks to pursue federal funding for the estimated $11 million project that will require closing Avenue B where the highway now crosses overhead and installing two roundabouts on Avenue A.
This will be the third time in three years the city has applied for the funding. But City Manager Jeff Cantrell said he’d been advised “through back channels” that the city’s chances, which officials previously thought were pretty good, are even better this year for receiving it.
The Hutchinson City Council agreed Tuesday to take up at its next meeting whether to reapply for a $9 million federal grant to rebuild portions of the Woodie Seat Freeway.
The city twice has filed an application seeking to fund the majority of the estimated $11.2 million project that includes rebuilding some bridges and demolishing others, closing a portion of Avenue B, and installing a roundabout.
Though assured by the city’s consultant it was competitive, the application has failed to garner funding both times and the condition of the roadway continues to deteriorate.
If the city is going to apply again, the application process begins next month.
The Hutchinson City Council learned Tuesday that the city manager has targeted April 1 as the date to reopen city hall, and that patrols of city parks are stepping up.
The council also appeared to support the city remaining a member of the Regional Economic Area Partnership for about $10,000 per year but it rejected an idea to use idle economic development funds to create a low-interest revolving loan program to support moving small businesses into vacant buildings around town.
The issues were among a range of topics touched on Tuesday not on the council’s agenda but were brought up after the board finished its few agenda items in less than 15 minutes.
A pair of bids separated by less than 1% for the city’s annual summer street mill and overlay project sparked a brief debate by the Hutchinson City Council on Tuesday about granting a preference to local bidders.
Ultimately, the council awarded the $1.139 million project to the low bidder, Pearson Construction LLC of Wichita, but several council members asked that the board revisit the city’s bid policy.
Mayor Steve Garza first raised the local preference issue on the paving bid, saying he’d received a lot of phone calls about the No. 2 bidder, APAC-Kansas Shears Division, being a local company with lots of employees in Hutchinson.
Mayor inquires about a public vote on Atrium purchase hutchnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hutchnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.