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Three Way City Hall project coming along on time, on budget

CITY HALL COMING ALONG – Three Way Mayor Larry Sanders stands in front of the new city hall that is currently under construction. Mayor Sanders said the building is nearing completion on the inside but still needs trim work, doors and flooring installed. Last week, crews began pouring concrete porch and sidewalks. Estimate for completion could be as soon as May.

The Three Way Board of Mayor and Aldermen had a first last week. Instead of meeting in the customary way in the boardroom, the meeting was held electronically via Zoom meeting. The meeting electronically was deemed necessary due to COVID-19 guidelines set forth by the federal and state governments.

Mayor Larry Sanders, aldermen Danny Wade and Mary Ann Tremblay, city recorder Susan Rogers and city attorney Steve Maroney attended the Zoom meeting in the comforts of their respective homes.

To begin the meeting, Maroney asked the mayor to make a public statement regarding the electronic meeting to assure it met all requirements of being an open meeting.

“This meeting is being conducted electronically via Zoom and all requirements had been met to notify the public with instructions on how to join the meeting,” said Mayor Sanders to open the meeting. “The city has met all the requirements as directed by Governor Lee in regard to public meetings.”

The mayor asked for a motion to make a determination on the record that meeting electronically is necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare in light of the coronavirus. Alderlady Tremblay made the motion, which was seconded by Alderman Wade. All votes during the meeting were done by role call to insure accuracy and transparency.

With 10 items on the agenda, six of those dealt with the new city hall building currently under construction. These included updates and quotes for items and installation for the city hall.

One item on the agenda was audio/visual equipment for the boardroom. Mayor Sanders presented two quotes that included installing microphones, sound mixer, ceiling mount speakers, amplifier and a 70-inch monitor.

Alderman Danny Wade

Main Street Connection entered a quote at $9,550.

Internallysound’s quote did not have a specific amount but instead listed the estimated cost between $13,000 and $15,000.

Alderman Wade, who has experience and knowledge of sound systems, noted both companies were using quality equipment such as JBL speakers, Shure or AKG microphones, Shure or Behringer mixer, and Ashley or Crown amplifier. Wade noted Internallysound’s quote included extra items.

When comparing, Wade told the board that he believed the quality of equipment was comparable but he could not be sure which models of microphones, mixers and amps were bid by Main Street Connection. In his opinion, the audio/visual project submitted by Main Street would be sufficient for the needs of the city board, plus the quote was much less expensive. The board voted to go with Main Street Connection for installing the equipment.

Main Street Connection also submitted a quote for installation and materials for voice and data cabling throughout the city hall. The wiring and installation came in at $6,500 and was approved unanimously.

Mayor Sanders had requested quotes for wood shutters for the city hall windows. At the time the board packets were delivered, only one quote was included. Between then and the actual board meeting, the mayor had received two other quotes.

Alderlady Mary Ann Tremblay

Sew Many Blessings submitted a quote of almost $9,000 for six shutters. Mayor Sanders told the board that Custom Blinds and More quoted the price at just over $7,000 and Blue Goose Blinds & Shutters quoted just under $6,000. The mayor said he wanted to physically see each company’s blinds before making the decision.

Alderlady Tremblay noted the board had given the mayor approval of purchasing shutters for the city hall. They all agreed again to allow the mayor to make the decision.

Mayor Sanders said he would get an invoice for purchasing security equipment for the new city hall. Once the city shows the purchase of $1,000 or more, the project will qualify for a PEP $500 grant. The deadline for submittal is May 1, 2020.

The board received design drawings and specifications for a city hall sign that will be constructed near Hwy 45W in front of the building. Vaughn Associates, architect for the city hall project, submitted the proposed design.

Mayor Sanders said the brick, corner stones and columns for the sign would match the ones used on the city hall building. He said the sign is 14’ wide, 8’6” tall and 2’ deep. The signage portion with the words “City of Three Way City Hall” is 8’4” wide.

There was no estimate of the costs to construct the sign. Mayor Sanders said the drawings were submitted for the board approval. The mayor and board members agreed the design was extremely nice and voted to approve.

Mayor Sanders updated the board of the balances remaining in the contingency fund allowances. The contingency allows for the overall project has a balance of just over $30,000. He said most of those funds were due to the building not requiring a second handicap ramp and railing. There was $1,850 left over for soil testing. Sod allowance has $10,000 while landscaping has $5,000. Neither sodding nor landscaping has begun since construction is still underway.
Contingency allowances remaining total $47,186.

Mayor Larry Sanders

Mayor Sanders offered an update on where the city hall project is as of last Monday. He said it is basically complete except for the finish trim around windows, doors and walls. The restrooms still need sinks installed, plus a few other odds and ends.

In other city business:

•Mayor Sanders said it was time to work on the 2020-21 fiscal year city of Three Way budget. The board discussed dates to hold a special called meeting to work on the budget and approved Thursday, April 16 at 6 p.m. The location was not determined until closer to the meeting date. It could be held in the meeting room behind the fire station in Three Way and all attendees would abide by the 6-feet COVID-19 guidelines or the budget meeting could be electronically via Zoom, just as April’s regular scheduled meeting.
Either way, the meeting will be open to the public.

•Mayor Sanders submitted an estimate from Volunteer International to repair the city’s big dump truck. The mayor said one cylinder in the motor is bad and is leaking coolant into the engine.

The quote to repair the one cylinder came in at a little over $17,000. Mayor Sanders said the city could purchase a new dump truck, not as big but sufficient, for twice the amount of repairs.

Alderman Wade asked if it would not be a better option to completely overhaul the entire engine as opposed to only overhauling one cylinder, while the engine is torn apart. Mayor Sanders said that could be an option and probably a good idea due to the age of the truck (1997 model). He was not sure it would be an option compared to purchasing a new dump truck that is not as big, but one that could to the same work.

The mayor suggested holding off on repairs for a while before making a decision to repair the truck or purchase a new one.

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