Published: April 08, 2008 07:03 am      

Bids awarded for Fuller Park, baseball complex

With a bid of almost $6.7 million, the local company Kline Mechanical & Construction was awarded the Fuller Park and baseball complex construction projects during Monday’s Woodward City Commission meeting.

In addition to awarding the bid for the next stage of construction at Crystal Beach Park, the commissioners also discussed a number of other construction projects during their meeting.

During the audience participation section of the meeting, Mitch Hale broached the subject of installing a drinking fountain along Woodward’s walking trail.

He suggested the drinking fountain be placed along Cedar Avenue near an intersection in the trail where the statue of the boy playing with his dog is featured.

Currently there is no drinking fountain located along the walking trail, Hale said, noting that it can be potentially problematic especially during the heat of summer.

Then later during the report section of the meeting, City Manager Alan Riffel noted the completion of the sewer line construction project along Hanks Trail and Commissioner Gary Goetzinger asked about the construction of a sidewalk along Downs Avenue. The city has yet to stake out the placement of the sidewalk, but Riffel said it will be placed along the south side of the street between the Southgate United parking lot and Jiffy Trip.

Mayor Bill Fanning said the purpose of the sidewalk is to help avoid any pedestrian accidents since “there is lots of foot traffic” in the area and a lot of people are “walking along the edge of the street in traffic.”

In addition to all this construction discussion, the city commissioners addressed the recent passage of the hotel/motel tax increase by adopting Ordinance No. 1458 to reflect the increase in the city ordinances.

The new six percent tax is scheduled to take effect June 1, which means the city will begin receiving additional tax collections in July, Riffel said.

In other business, the commissioners approved a resolution showing the city’s support of the Adopt-a-Unit program, whereby citizens in Woodward can send care packages to the soldiers serving overseas in the National Guard’s “Bravo” Unit.

Riffel said there are some men from the Woodward and Shattuck areas serving in the “Bravo” unit.

Also during their regular meeting Monday evening, the commissioners received their monthly report from Accurate Environmental Services, denied an insurance claim against the city for vehicle damage, and met in an executive session to discuss a dispute with The International Association of Firefighters, for which they took no action once back in open session.