City-owned lot near city hall will become parking lot

The more than $495,000 reconstruction of the Newton City Hall parking lot will also result in a new, 23-spot parking lot in a city-owned parcel at 201 W. Fourth St. S., just south of the fire station and west of Cardinal Corner. At the April 4 council meeting, staff indicated the lot would be for both staff and the public.

As part of the project, the current parking lot, police storage garage and the underground water storage tank will be removed and replaced with 6-inch and 7-inch cement concrete pavement with 6 inches of granular subbase. The vacant lot adjacent to city hall will become the new parking lot.

New sidewalks and ADA ramps will be constructed in the north, south and east sides of city hall, as well as the new parking lot across the street.

The current parking lot at city hall is approximately 34 years old and has begun to deteriorate, causing an unsightly appearance and safety concerns for citizens and city employees, agenda documents stated. There is also a need for more parking spaces and to address drainage issues and meet ADA standards.

TK Concrete Inc., of Pella, was awarded the winning bid of $495,900. Absolute Concrete Construction Inc., of Slater, submitted a $598,692 bid. Both bids were opened on March 25. However, both bids were higher than the engineer’s cost estimate of $415,219. The project is expected to be completed Sept. 30.

Payment for the project comes from multiple funding streams: about $336,271 is capital funding, $110,500 will come from the city center general fund fiscal year 2023 budget and about $19,218 in general funds budgeted for the transfer to golf in the fiscal year 2022 budget that is no longer needed.

Newton Public Works Director Jody Rhone told Newton News the city will have eight public parking lots after the construction of the new lot.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext 6560 or at cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com