Council awards bids for new restroom building at Centennial field

The Worthington City Council on Monday night awarded Ideal Construction the bid for its Centennial Ballfield restroom project.

The new building, to be located on Tower Street between Clary Street and 11th Avenue, is part of an overall conversion of that area, which will feature a new softball complex. In addition to restrooms, the new building will include a concessions area and storage area.

Ideal Construction was awarded the bid in the amount of $486,120. That was the lowest of four bids on the work.,

There were additional Public Works-related items on Monday night's agenda. In one of them, council members approved a budget amendment that will result in pavement of the parking area at the city's Puppy Park.

Public Works Director Todd Wietzema explained that staff recently became aware of an overlay project being done on First Avenue Southwest — the road adjacent to the Puppy Park entrance — and noted it "would be an ideal time to complete an often-requested project." The estimated cost for the parking lot improvement is $80,550, including design and contingencies. Undesignated-Unreserved funds will be used to complete the work.

Additionally, the council approved the removal of the old tennis court at Orchard Knoll Park. The court has been in disrepair for a number of years and, according to Wietzema, has not been usable for the last three years. There is no recommendation for the space at this time but could be developed in the future. Plans are to remove the fencing, asphalt and base materials and replant the area to grass

Council members set this year's annual fee for private docks on public property on Lake Okabena at $200. This fee has remained the same since 2022. Eight docks were approved last year; the docks are inspected weekly.

In a pair of agenda items pertaining to the ice arena project, the council on Monday approved a construction manager at risk for pre-construction services for arena renovation and expansion.

Knutson Construction will be the project’s construction manager at risk and will collaborate with HTG Architects and city staff in defining the final scope of the project and establish the guaranteed maximum price. Worthington City Administrator Steve Robinson said he expects work on the facility to begin in late summer. The project is capped at $16 million.

Contracts between the city, District 518, the Worthington Hockey Association and the Nobles County Fair Association still need to be drawn up and brought before the council. 

Council members Monday also approved the architectural and engineering schematic design phase of the ice arena.

In engineering business, the council approved the reimbursement resolutions for the Sixth Avenue Street Reconstruction, Third Avenue Reconstruction, and Tower Street Reconstruction projects, respectively. Plans for the Sixth Avenue street reconstruction also moved forward, and bids for the work must be received by 2 p.m. April 8.

In other business, council members approved updates to guidelines for both the Worthington Police Department detective sergeant and dispatch supervisor positions.