ELLINWOOD — Repair to the sidewalk covering Ellinwood’s iconic tunnels at the historic Wolf Hotel will proceed, but not entirely as expected.
City officials received an unpleasant surprise recently when the lone bid for the cost-share grant project came in on April 10 at $432,156.95 — more than 40% over the engineer’s estimate.
This left those involved with a difficult choice: to reject the bid and re-bid the project at a risk of future bids coming back higher, or accept the bid and work out an equitable agreement between the city and Wolf Hotel’s owner to split the overage cost.
A special meeting of the Ellinwood City Council was called for Tuesday afternoon, in which the council discussed the situation with owner Chris McCord and his attorney.
After discussion of several scenarios, an agreement was reached on cost share of the overage amounting to $175,686.95 with deductions, with the city‘s share at 60% in the amount of $105,412.70 and the hotel’s share at 40% in the amount of $70,274.78.
Grant portions of the project funding works on a reimbursement basis for both parties. The agreement includes a deadline for the hotel’s first payment to the city at 30 days following construction start. Because both the city and the hotel would be seeking additional grant funding opportunities, additional grant funding on the city’s side would apply to the city’s share, while additional grant funding on the hotel’s side would apply to the hotel’s share.
Following a vote to accept the 60/40 split, the council then voted to accept the bid submitted by Vogts-Parga Construction, Moundridge, for $432,156.95, subtracting $7,590 to remove and replace traffic control signs on the street corner, as well as the addition of two bollards that would prevent vehicles from parking on the sidewalk. City Administrator Chris Komarek explained that the two line items could be taken care of by city crews at much less cost.
Komarek told the council that the project is anticipated to begin in August, allowing both parties the opportunity to seek additional grant funds. At the meeting, McCord informed the council that the hotel had received $90,000 in state Heritage grant funds for the project.
Original estimates
As submitted on the original grant application in August 2022, total estimated cost of the project was determined at $320,100 with the Kansas Department of Transportation covering $266,100 for 80% and 20% for the applicants, which included the city and the hotel, at $53,320. The city’s grant only covers construction costs.
Engineering costs for the project came in at $54,000, making the original total share for both applicants $107,220, of which the hotel was to pay $72,000.
