Town hall bid accepted

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

— Construction will soon begin on a new town hall for Highfill, following the council’s approval on Jan. 12 of the $249,700 bid of Adams Investments to put up the new building.

Adams Investments was the lowest complete bid. Fifteen contractors submitted bids for the project.

Mayor Chris Holland discussed reducing the cost by cutting out the council table which was included in the bid and making brand changes on other items in the bid and then adding a full brick veneer rather than a partial one. The council favored the suggested changes.

Holland said construction of the building would likely begin before the February council meeting.

Hiring of a part-time employee to assist Jeanetta Evans, thecity’s administrative assistant, was briefly discussed, but Evans suggested waiting until offices are moved to the new city hall because of lack of space for anyone else to work in the existing office.

Also approved at the council meeting was the purchase of a small 28 horsepower Mahindra 2816 g tractor to be used for mowing and for other lighter work around the town. After hearing prices on a Kubota, John Deere and Mahindra tractor with a six-foot finish mower, a six-foot rotary motor and a five-foot box blade, the council chose the Mahindra tractor because it required no down payment and came with a five-year warranty and zero percent interest for five years. The other offers had shorter warranties - two to three years - and John Deere required a down payment for a purchase. The payments for the tractor were already included in the town’s budget.

The purchase will be made from Tatum Motor Company of Tontitown, for $18,565.

News, Pages 1 on 01/20/2010