City Council Reconsiders Scoreboard; Considers $1.3 Million Pathway Contract

The Casper City Council will revisit its decision two weeks ago to not fund a new scoreboard and other electronic signage for the Casper Events Center, according to its agenda.

Council, which meets at city hall at 6 p.m. Tuesday, voted down the $1 million project on a 5-4 vote on Jan. 27, with three of the no votes coming from new council members elected in November.

However, the largest budget item on the agenda is a contract with 71 Construction -- and a stern rebuke to Hedquist Construction -- to build the Fort Caspar Pathway Project.

The base project includes a 120-foot-long box culvert under Wyoming Boulevard and a concrete pathway to connect the existing pathways along the Platte River Parkway. It will cost $1,237,000 plus a $100,000 contingency bringing the total to $1.337,000.

The project will be paid for with $358,000 from the Wyoming Department of Transportation, $150,000 from Natrona County, $101,500 from leftover funds from the optional one-cent sales tax No. 13 that expired in 2011, $413,967 from Optional One-Cent Sales Tax No. 14 that expires this year; and $313,599 from the city's one-time general funds.

A Feb. 3 memo from Public Services Director Andrew Beamer and City Engineer Jason Knopp to City Manager John Patterson states the city received three bids for the project: Hedquist Construction for $989,983; 71 Construction Inc. for $1,237,066.25; and Grizzly Excavation and Construction Inc. for $1,873, 295.

The memo states the contract will go "to the lowest bidder who is determined qualified and responsible in the sole discretion and best interest of the City."

Hedquist Construction was the low bidder, but not the qualified one, according to the memo.

That company, headed by city councilman Craig Hedquist, did not complete the last four city projects in a timely manner in accordance with the contract terms, according to the memo. Those four projects resulted in settlement negotiations, and the city had to terminate one of those contracts and make a claim with the company's bonding company, according to the memo.

The Fort Caspar Project is time sensitive and the project is scheduled to be completed by July 1, 2015, according to the memo.

A subsequent project will be a 93-foot-long, 12-foot-wide pedestrian bridge across Garden Creek, but the resolution before the council on Tuesday does not include that contract.

City Manager John Patterson said Monday that the city does not have the funds available for that project at this time.

Other items on the agenda include a three-year, $184,000 contract with R&R rest stops to provide portable toilets for the city parks; a two-year, $100,000 agreement to fund the Downtown Development Authority; and subleasing an office in the Mike Lansing Field Clubhouse from Casper Legion Baseball, Inc. to Casper Youth Baseball.