Tekoa rejects all center bids

The City of Tekoa voted to turn down three bids for work at the community center and the adjoining Empire Theater. The project was partially funded by a $34,000 grant award from the county’s .09 tax program.

The $34,000 has been designated to help pay for new restrooms, an improved heating system for the community center and a walkway between the adjoining buildings.

The bids all came in higher than expected.

“It was a little more than I thought it would be,” said Tekoa Mayor John Jaeger.

Expecting the restrooms part to come in at $11,000 to $12,000, one bid marked it for $30,000.

An added problem with the bids was that they did not account for the .09 program requirement that the city pay 25 percent of the project’s cost, through in-kind work or otherwise.

The city council voted to formally to reject the bids Aug. 15.

They will now send out a call for new bid proposals at their next meeting, Sept. 19.

The new bathrooms will make for more accessible restrooms for the theater, which now has its two restrooms down a stairwell. The ramp and walkway will connect the two buildings. The heating system would change from pellet stoves to something more efficient for the space, such as wall heaters or a forced-air system.

“We’ll probably do more than 25 percent of the work,” said Jaeger. “That’s our plan.”