LARNED — Larned City Council members struggled to sort through bids to replace lights in and around the pool and improve the sound system Monday night. Finally conceding the bids were not apples to apples, and already the process had been compromised when it was delayed the week before, the council opted to leave the decision up to City Manager Brad Eilts once he receives revised bids from the companies involved.
Bidders include Haynes Electric, Larned, as well as Hammeke Electric and P&S Electric, Great Bend. Haynes submitted his bid on time, and it was presented at the April 6 regular meeting. But, council members felt the price was high, and deviating from normal procedure, opted to delay a decision and give the Great Bend companies a chance to submit their bids and to take action at a special meeting two weeks later. Leading up to the meeting, Eilts contacted Haynes and allowed a revised bid to be submitted, but Haynes stood by the original bid going into the meeting Monday night.
At issue was the lights in the walls of the city pool. Jim Haynes’s bid provided a cost for replacing the lighting units in full, including the can which holds the light. Hammeke and P&S Electric offered bids for retrofitting the lights using the existing cans, but with the possibility of additional charges if the retrofit turns out to not be possible.
Council members asked each if they had any experience working with pools. Haynes mentioned several projects he had worked on, but Hammeke and P&S Electric both said they had consulted with the lighting company and a pool company for advice before submitting their bids. Still, with the bids several thousand dollars apart, the council wanted to know what Haynes would charge for the retrofit. He said he would have to check, but could have a price to them by the next day.
Mayor William Nusser asked for pool co-manager Carl Nolan’s input. According to him, the wall lights had not worked since he had worked there, and he was not certain when they stopped working. This prompted some of the council members to question the need for replacing them in the first place.
Hayne’s shared what he knew.
“In the early 1980s there was a drowning at a 4-H pool party, and lifeguards not being able to see the bottom of the pool was a factor,” he said. “The 4-H club donated money to have them put in so it wouldn’t happen again.”
Sharon McGinness said she felt in light of the information, the pool lights were not negotiable for safety’s sake.
The base price for each of the bids included running conduit and wiring for pool lights, lights on poles, and speaker wire for the pool sound system. The council agreed all of the wiring should be done now before the deck around the pool is replaced. But, depending on bids, the speakers may need to wait until the following year.
Nusser pushed for the council to take some sort of action, and council member Jason Murray took the lead.
“Everyone has seen each other’s hands now,” Murray said. “It’s impossible to be fair at this point. You hate to palm it off on someone else, but we’ve been given these cards to play with.”
He moved to set a spending limit of $30,000 for the project and authorize Eilts to pick one when all comparable bids are in with input from Nolan and Parks and Cemetery Supervisor Josh Kraisinger.
A roll call vote was taken with unanimous support for the motion.
Nusser assured all three bidders of their importance to the city, and apologized for the confusion, noting the city had not supplied detailed specs in part because they were not aware of the options available.
“The pool is a landmark facility for our community, and we appreciate your efforts,” he said.
