The community center is making progress and the project is estimated to be open for bid in April.

Councilmembers heard an update from Architect Ron Hobbs at the March 19 meeting. Hobbs said each base bid for the center would include three add-ons or alternates. The alternates will include potential increases to the project cost that the city is considering. The alternates are the parking on the south side, the youth area and the outdoor patio in the back of the facility. Adding an alternate for the different roofing material on the gymnasium was also discussed at the meeting.

If no bids come within the city’s budget, the city can reject the bids, make changes to the project and then go for bids again. Hobbs said that if the bids are too high, there are three main options for the city to consider. The first would be to change the building materials used, such as changing some of the stone to stucco. The second would be to reduce the size of the structure by making some rooms smaller or eliminating some rooms from the plan altogether. The final option would be to revisit the budget and try to allocate more money to the community center project.

Mariam Ayad • Staff Writer • [email protected]

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