A contract for the next stage of Joplin’s tornado recovery will be posed for action tonight by the City Council.
Demolition of foundations, basements and other structures that have not been removed by property owners could cost more than $900,000. Four companies submitted bids ranging from about $909,000 to more $1.7 million.
The city staff estimates that 375 foundations, basements, crawl spaces, swimming pools and other structures remain in the city’s tornado zone. The staff is proposing approval of a contract with Construction Adventures for more than $900,000 to remove the structures, and fill the depressions left behind with sand and dirt. The work would take place on residential properties condemned by the city’s Building Board of Appeals.
Four bids were submitted for the work: Kat Excavation, $1,712,271; Big John’s, $972,000; B&D Yardbuilders, $952,300; and Construction Adventures, $909,035.44.
The council also will be asked to give formal approval to a 3 percent wage increase for city employees. Raises of 2.5 percent were granted in October 2010, but city employees have not since received a wage hike.
No wage increase was proposed or discussed last year so that the financial impact on the city from the May 22 tornado could be assessed. The city has collected a higher amount of sales tax revenue than has been budgeted this fiscal year, and City Manager Mark Rohr proposed using some of that money for raises.
The council also will consider whether to accept a property donation at 26th Street and McClelland Boulevard offered by Sisters of Mercy Health System as the site for a tornado memorial and museum.
The council normally meets on the first and third Mondays, but this week’s session was postponed because graduation was held Monday for Joplin High School seniors, and President Barack Obama gave the commencement address.
Time and place
THE CITY COUNCIL meets at 6 p.m. today on the fifth floor of City Hall, 602 S. Main St.
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