Welcome to Kenmare

Feature Stories (Vol. 109 No. 30--7/25/2007)

Wheels & Meals looking for general contractor

By Caroline Downs

Area contractors say they’re interested in the plans for the new Kenmare Wheels & Meals facility, but they’re simply too busy right now to bid on the project.

That was the conclusion of Darin Schaeffer of Bartlett and West Engineers, Inc., Bismarck, during a meeting held in Kenmare July 18th.

With a few sealed envelopes piled on the table in front of him, Schaeffer intended to open bids that day with Linda Freeman, project director of Kenmare Wheels & Meals, Inc., and Bruce Fuchs, Public Transit Program Manager at the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

The plans call for the former Motor Service building on Central Avenue in Kenmare to be remodeled into office and meeting space for Wheels & Meals. An attached 36’x36’ two-stall, heated bus storage facility will be constructed on the site, with water.

The front half of the existing building will remain unchanged, with Ferrellgas continuing to rent space. Deb’s Designs will rent the remaining portion of the front section. According to Freeman, the back half of the building will be remodeled to include two offices, a reception area, a conference room, a small storage area, a break room, and a unisex bathroom to serve the entire facility.

Bids were placed by Northern Plains Plumbing, Heating & Air of Bismarck for the mechanical construction, and by Electric Service Company and Main Electric Construction, Inc., both of Minot, for the electrical work.

However, despite three weeks of advertising and personal contacts made by Schaeffer, no general contractors submitted bids.

"We have electric bids and we have mechanical bids," Schaeffer said. "All the generals are busy and they’re asking for another extension. We’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place."

A completion date of November 27, 2007, was included in the bidding packets. "Remodeling of the interior is the priority," Freeman said. "I just don’t want to be moving at 40 below!"

Freeman and Fuchs agreed with Schaeffer that an extension would be a good idea, but they had to contact Dave Leftwich, Local Government Division, NDDOT, for approval.

Schaeffer described the situation as Leftwich joined the group via speaker phone from Bismarck. He also told Leftwich that R & K Contractors, Inc. of Minot were recommended as a general contractor and had expressed interest, but they were presently committed to other jobs and did not have time to compile numbers for the Kenmare project.

Leftwich liked the idea of postponing the bid opening. "Hold the sealed bids," he suggested, "and ask the contractors if they will honor their bid for the next bid opening."

Schaeffer promised to investigate the correct process for extending the deadline before re-advertising the bids. "We’ll hold what we’ve got and still accept additional bids," he said.

Fuchs said he could delay other similar projects in the state waiting for NDDOT funding until the Kenmare project was settled. "Everybody knows what’s in the hopper first is going to be the next building," he told Freeman. "We will get you a building, Linda."

Bids for general, mechanical and electrical construction work will be received until 11 am Thursday, August 9, 2007, and then read at 11:30 that morning in the council room at the Kenmare Memorial Hall.

Fuchs said the Kenmare Wheels & Meals board should expect to hold a meeting soon after the bid opening. "Once we get the bids, we want to react quickly," he said. "That day, if we can."

Despite the delay, Freeman remained positive. "The original request for funds for this building was written in 2003," she said, checking an overstuffed file folder for a copy of her first proposal.

She explained the project was conceived by the NDDOT, using federal money sent to the states for transit issues. The first priority of the NDDOT was to provide safe, newer buses for entities like Kenmare Wheels & Meals. In the current funding cycle, housing those buses is the concern.

"We started with the bus storage facility," Freeman said. "Upon inspection of our existing offices by Bruce Fuchs, he said, ‘Oh, you need offices.’"

Freeman has been cheerfully working on the project for four years from her rented quarters on Division Street behind Farmers Union Insurance. "We are thrilled to be able to have our own facilities," she said. "And any new building is always good for the community."

The latest estimated costs for the project total $199,000, with $39,800 of that, or 20 percent, required to be covered locally. Freeman said part of the match can be made through the value of the existing building and property, and the rest has already been procured. A one-time request was granted from the Ward County mills for a portion of the balance, with the remainder covered through bequests and memorials to Kenmare Wheels & Meals.

The federal money will be distributed by the NDDOT through Souris Basin Transportation to Kenmare Wheels & Meals. "This [project] is a result of increased money by the feds," Freeman said. "Without this funding source, [we] would never be able to do this."

She continued, "I just go along with the process. We have true faith this will happen, hopefully in 2008."

Members of the public are welcome to attend the bid opening on August 9th.