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Bonner Springs’ new Fire and Emergency Services construction project is moving right along.

On Monday night the City Council awarded a construction bid, totaling $2,539,300, to Combes Construction, LLC., of Overland Park. Combes Construction’s was one of 14 bids made for the project, but it won out based on being $200,700 less than the original estimated base bid.

The accepted bid includes a base bid of $2,294,000, which will cover expenses related to three new ambulance bays, living quarters, a large training room, an outbuilding for storage and office space refurbishments. Four add-alternate items, totaling $145,300, make up the remainder of the bid. This amount will cover a new Federal Emergency Management Agency storm shelter, which is being partially funded by a FEMA grant awarded last April, as well as a roof replacement, additional neutral wire and split block facing on the new outbuilding.

City Manager John (Jack) Helin said the renovation was badly needed right now, especially with five full-time and 15 volunteer EMS personnel living and working out of a house trailer between City Hall and the Bonner Springs Community Center.

“They’re living in temporary quarters, so this will finally give them a decent place to have equipment, train and live,” Helin said.

Project Manager Matt Beets said construction may now begin on the site within six weeks. He estimated completing the project could take as long as a year, but he wouldn’t know the exact date until after a preconstruction meeting took place. The date of the pre-construction meeting hadn’t been determined yet at Monday’s City Council meeting.

With additional costs accrued throughout the construction, such as those for new furniture and the new EMS radio tower, the project should eventually total around $3 million. Financing will come from a 15-year general obligation bond of $3,090,000, which includes $90,000 in issuance costs. Helin said the first four years of the debt will be paid through EMS sales tax.

“Our hope would be that that would be extended by a vote of the people for the next (11) years, and that would pay the remainder of the debt on this,” Helin said.

Also on Monday, the council:

• Unanimously approved the minutes of the Feb. 9 meeting.

• Unanimously approved supplement claims for city operations in the amount of $10,244.98 and regular claims in the amount of $150,785.41.

• Unanimously approved Public Housing Authority claims in the amount of $9,084.25.

• Unanimously approved water, sewer and sidewalk improvements to Bluegrass Meadows.

• Unanimously approved the renewal of an interlocal agreement with USD 204 for the school resource officer position.

• Unanimously approved a resolution to withdraw from the current insurance pool MARCIT, an execution of agreement to withdraw and an interlocal agreement for the formation of the Kansas Midwest Public Risk pool.

• Unanimously approved the authorization of the procurement of services from Midwest Public Risk.

• Unanimously approved the awarding of a bid in the amount of $38,484 to Grizzley Fence Co. for the replacement of fences for baseball fields 2 and 3 in Lions Park.

• Unanimously approved an ATMOS Energy agreement that requires the city of Bonner Springs to fund $3,653.04 for the relocation of gas mains in the Kansas Highway 32 reconstruction project.

• Heard City Manager Helin report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which may enable cities to receive funds for transportation construction projects.

“Based on preliminary information from KDOT and MoDot, MARC now estimate(s) that approximately $49 million will be available for transportation projects in the Kansas City area, with about $22 million in Kansas and $27 million in Missouri,” Helin said in his report.

Helin said that while the city has submitted a list of possible projects to MARC, he was still unsure as to whether Bonner Springs would receive any of the available funds.

Some of the street projects submitted by Bonner Springs included Metropolitan Avenue between 138th and 134th streets, Kansas Avenue between 138th and 142nd streets and 138th Street between Kansas and Kump avenues.

Helin said that MARC staff is evaluating all possible projects and a final recommendation will be made by the MARC board of directors Tuesday, March 3.

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