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The
Official Newspaper of Manchester and Delaware County, Iowa
Tuesday,
April 4, 2006 | |
Walkway under estimated by $47,000
by Brian Cook |
The Manchester City Council got some bad news at its meeting on March 27, as it learned the Bailey/Brewer walkway would cost more than was estimated.
The quantities for the amount of concrete and steel for an extended culvert along South Brewer Street did not get transferred over to the total sheet that went out to contractors for bid. The council was told last Monday night that the extra cost for the project was going to be over $80,000.
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BRIAN COOK / Press
The box culvert along South Brewer Street costs $47-48,000 more than estimated in the bid sheet sent to contractors. |
City Manager Tim Vick said those numbers were later revised and the additional cost for the concrete and steel will be $47-48,000.
That will bring the estimated total cost of the project for construction and engineering up to $522,000.
To pay for the additional expense, Vick said the City could use funding from a capital improvement bond that was unspent. The city might also be able to transfer money from a Surface Transportation Program grant Manchester has secured to pave part of the riverwalk. Vick said that could lead to Manchester giving back part of that grant, which would delay the paving of the riverwalk.
The Bailey/Brewer walkway received $347,638 in Surface Transportation Program funds.
Adding to the problem was the cost for steel and concrete in the original bid. Manchester received a bid of $740.40 per cubic yard of concrete, but there was approximately 52 cubic yards of concrete unaccounted for because of the mistake on the bid sheet.
“The high cost of concrete increased the project cost rapidly,” Vick explained.
Tschiggfrie Excavating, which is the general contractor for the project has agreed to charge just $640 per cubic yard for 52 cubic yards of concrete that were unaccounted for in the original estimate. The amount of steel needed was also under estimated because of the amount of rebar in the wing walls of the box culvert.
Tekippe Engineering has also agreed not to charge for the additional engineering needed because of the change or to exceed an agreed upon amount for the remainder of the project.
Work has continued on the project, which should be done so the trail can be open by Memorial Day weekend. |
Courthouse receives bomb threat March 28
by Latisha Sand |
The Delaware County Courthouse was evacuated on Tuesday, March 28 around 8 a.m. because of a call made to the recorders office about a bomb.
“The caller stated that this was a bomb threat and that there were two bombs in the building with the first one going off at 10 a.m.,” said Delaware County Sheriff John LeClere.
The employee who received the call went into another office and called 911.
LeClere said that the courthouse does have plans in place for an emergency and, according to Manchester Police Chief Bruce Trapp the employees were evacuated across the street to the fire station.
A search by the Sheriff’s office, the Manchester Police Department and a member of the maintenance staff from the courthouse turned up nothing.
“A lot of the offices were closed or locked,” said LeClere as to why a member of the courthouse staff helped with the search. “He had keys for all the doors and he’s also familiar with all the areas and offices within the courthouse.”
LeClere said that the employee would know whether or not a box in the corner has been there for months or if it’s something new.
“When we do searches, it’s good to have someone with us who is familiar with things,” LeClere said.
LeClere said that if something suspicious had been found, the searchers would not tamper with the object. A bomb-detecting dog would be called in to see if the item was indeed a bomb and then the bomb squad would be called in to disable the threat. Both services would be coming from Linn County.
As of now, both the Sheriff’s office and the Manchester Police are investigating and following up on any leads.
“We take any threat very seriously and anyone committing these acts are committing a felony and will be prosecuted fully when caught,” said Trapp. |
Medical supplies now available downtown
By Brian Cook |
A new store, Long Term Medical Supply, opens today in downtown Manchester.
The store, which carries home medical equipment and supplies, is on West Main Street, next to F&M Bank. The store hours will be 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Also, there will be 24-hour on-call service when the store is closed for emergencies.
Answering those calls will be Shari Jones, the store manager who is also a certified respiratory therapist, and customer service representative Karen Baker. Both women are from Manchester.
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BRIAN COOK / Press
Karen Baker and Shari Jones are the only two employees at the new business, Long Term Medical Supply, in downtown Manchester. |
Jones had been working at the Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital until January, and then had worked at American Home Patient in Coralville doing home care services for patients.
“It’s nice to be right here in town,” Jones said commenting on the amount of driving she used to do, “and it’s a family-owned company. So that’s nice.”
Jones said they try to cater to the patient, so people can come to the store or LTMS will go to their home and deliver. If the patient is getting oxygen, they take the tanks and the oxygen concentrator to the home and teach them how to use the oxygen.
“Oxygen is a drug, so we have to teach them how to use it,” Jones explained.
Oxygen is the biggest product in sales for LTMS. As a certified respiratory therapist, Jones has experience working in the hospital with patients who have bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema and any respiratory disease of cancer of the lungs that may require oxygen treatment.
LTMS will work not only with the public, but also Regional Medical Center and the clinic in Manchester, plus several nursing homes in northeast Iowa. LTMS also has stores in Osceola, Iowa Falls, Humboldt, Grinnell and Hampton.
The store can also order supplies not on hand, and have them to the patient the next day. |
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