BID board nears final design

The Hill City Business Improvement District Board (BID board) did not have a quorum at its Sept 19 meeting. However, those present were still able to discuss the projects — paving the alleyway behind Hill City Senior Center and renovating the senior center.

The bid documents are not ready for the senior center construction, said Buzz Grover, project manager. However, the mechanical engineer and the architect of the project, Donovan Broberg, have come together, and want someone to decide on the type and quality of the fixtures in the bathroom.

Grover said the architect said stainless steel is being used in other public restrooms.

“Porcelain is good,” said Eileen Hamm, BID board member.

Shane Schriner, BID board member, asked Brett McMacken, city administrator for Hill City, if the bid documents are ready for the alley paving.

McMacken said the documents are ready for the most part but the city is still working on the electrical aspect of the project, and he is awaiting word from Kale McNaboe, Hill City engineer, about the electrical work.

Shifting focus back to the building, Grover said a survey of the land was done.

“The biggest change…is from the property line to the building,” he said.

The space between the property line and the building was reduced five feet, he said, from 37 feet to 32 feet.

This meant that part of the building needed to be reduced in size so that the building’s renovations were properly set back from the property lines.

“It is what it is,” Schriner said.

If the new survey is wrong, the designs will just go back to what they were before the survey, McMacken said.

The missing five feet might not make a large difference in the meeting room but would make a large difference in the kitchen, Schriner said.

Losing the five feet is a big deal, Hamm said.

The board then shifted its focus back to the paving portion of the project.

There will be stairs from the lower, already existing parking area to the upper parking area. Stairs are being installed rather than a ramp because the top area will be the American with Disabilities Act compliant handicapped parking area. They also do not want to disturb the trees that already exist in that area.

McMacken reiterated the city is waiting on the electrical design for the alley area since the parking area in the existing tennis court will have pedestals for electricity.

“We need to talk about, too, how (the tennis court parking area) will be used,” McMacken said. “If there will be tents there or RVs there during events.”

The event organizers for the next Wine, Brew and BBQ are planning on using that area for the event, Grover said.

McMacken wondered what type of power and what amperage of power will be needed in the area.

Dale Householder, Hill City Senior Center board president, wondered if the existing tennis court area had the structural integrity to support vehicles on it, to which McMacken said it does.

When it comes to who pays for the electricity used in the tennis court area, Hamm said she was under the impression that the event itself would pay for the electricity used.

McMacken said the five pedestals on each side might be too many and the city might go with three on each side instead.

The BID board came to a consensus with those there that the amperage in the pedestals could be changed like the electronic pedestals at an RV park. The ranges would be 20, 30 and 50 amps.

At the end of the meeting, McMacken provided a potential timeline going forward.

“(McNaboe) is saying we should bid the projects in October and November,” McMacken said. “With the alley project, we want to have it done by the middle-to-end of June. Because it is off Main Street, traffic shouldn’t be too heavily impacted. …All businesses that share the alleyway, though, will need to coordinate how to get in and out.”