Sealed bids for citywide street improvements and rehabilitation of Airline Drive were accepted Tuesday by the Bossier City City Council and if approved, the projects will total more than $2.7 million.
Benton & Brown’s base bid on street improvements came in at $1,472,177.75 with a $178,845 bid on Alternate 1 and $46,400 for Alternate 2.
On the Airline Dr. rehabilitation project, two companies submitted with Earnest Contracting, LLC turning in the apparent low bid at $1,089,774. Benton & Brown bid $1,315,715 for the project.
Council members unanimously approved an ordinance to appropriate $640,000 from the city’s disaster reserve fund to cover expenses arising from severe storms that swept through the city and region earlier this year.
Bossier City, and the north Louisiana area, was hit by severe weather that caused power outages and heavy damage, resulting in the declaration of a state of emergency after storms during the evening hours of June 15 and early morning on June 16.
Disaster reserve funds were amended to increase expenditures for the June storms by $505,000, while the July severe weather event led to an additional $135,000.
Council members also said yes to an ordinance to appropriate an additional $10,00 for the purchase of a salt spreader to be prepared for possible winter precipitation on streets in the city.
Language in the ordinance notes Bossier City, along with Bossier Parish and the Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (BOHSEP), “…are planning and preparing coordinated response efforts for the upcoming winter season.”
Still another ordinance to appropriate funds for a city project was adopted by the council, but this one didn’t pass without opposition.
By a 5-2 vote, the council will take an additional $130,000 from the Riverboat Capital Projects to construct a new Walbrook Park maintenance building. Questions were raised about the need to appropriate more money before the project has begun, and the building’s need and use.
Voting for the project were councilmen David Montgomery, Jeffery Darby, Don “Bubba” Williams, Jeff Free and Vince Maggio. Nay votes were cast by Chris Smith and Brian Hammons.
In other business, members approved a resolution authorizing the hiring or promotion of a utilities billing and collection supervisor, and authorized the reclassification of one vacant Captain position to Deputy Chief in the city police department.