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Bid opening Aug. 15 for third phase of Main Street
By Steve Dunn/Gate City Managing Editor
Bids will be opened Aug. 15 on the third phase of the Main Street reconstruction project costing an estimated $376,000, the Keokuk City Council heard during its weekly workshop Thursday.
Both sides of Main Street from Seventh to Fourth streets will get new sidewalks and period lighting, continuing the second phase along Main Street from 14th to Seventh streets.
In a related matter, the council discussed the possibility of having the old Main Cafe at Seventh and Main streets demolished so the intersection at Seventh and Main could be enlarged to help truck traffic.
“I think the court has already said we could (tear down the building),” said Community Development Director Pam Broomhall.
However, asbestos removal could be a costly factor in demolishing the old restaurant, she indicated.
Council member Mike O'Connor brought up moving the old Gen. Samuel Curtis statue from Victory Park to the intersection of Third and Main streets. That would serve as a gateway to the downtown from the east, O'Connor said.
O'Connor also said he now understands why Alliant Energy is asking the city to sign a franchise agreement. About 450 cities have such agreements with Alliant Energy, he added.
Saying “it seemed coercive” when three Alliant Energy officials addressed the council recently, O'Connor commented, “I haven't been in a position to trust Alliant, but I have studied it.”
He added that Alliant Energy hasn't abided by its own agreement. In some cases, the City of Keokuk hasn't been charged while other cities have been charged for the same things, he explained.
Council member Doug Matlick asked whether the city's franchise with Alliant Energy would be the same as Alliant Energy franchises with other cities. No other city's franchise with the utility has a five-year out, which Keokuk could have, Mayor David Gudgel said.
In other street matters, Public Works Director Bill Richards said he would like to get High Street from 13th to 17th streets rebuilt this fall and work on Pioneer Lane and Brookshire Drive next spring. The projects would be the first two financed through a $3 million bond issue.
Both sides of Main Street from Seventh to Fourth streets will get new sidewalks and period lighting, continuing the second phase along Main Street from 14th to Seventh streets.
In a related matter, the council discussed the possibility of having the old Main Cafe at Seventh and Main streets demolished so the intersection at Seventh and Main could be enlarged to help truck traffic.
“I think the court has already said we could (tear down the building),” said Community Development Director Pam Broomhall.
However, asbestos removal could be a costly factor in demolishing the old restaurant, she indicated.
Council member Mike O'Connor brought up moving the old Gen. Samuel Curtis statue from Victory Park to the intersection of Third and Main streets. That would serve as a gateway to the downtown from the east, O'Connor said.
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Saying “it seemed coercive” when three Alliant Energy officials addressed the council recently, O'Connor commented, “I haven't been in a position to trust Alliant, but I have studied it.”
He added that Alliant Energy hasn't abided by its own agreement. In some cases, the City of Keokuk hasn't been charged while other cities have been charged for the same things, he explained.
Council member Doug Matlick asked whether the city's franchise with Alliant Energy would be the same as Alliant Energy franchises with other cities. No other city's franchise with the utility has a five-year out, which Keokuk could have, Mayor David Gudgel said.
In other street matters, Public Works Director Bill Richards said he would like to get High Street from 13th to 17th streets rebuilt this fall and work on Pioneer Lane and Brookshire Drive next spring. The projects would be the first two financed through a $3 million bond issue.
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