(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson county board of supervisors today (Tues.) approved plans and specifications and set a date for a bid letting on the courthouse project.
But the vote was NOT unanimous. It was four-to-one with supervisor Wayne Northey casting the lone no vote, again siting concern over revised plans that shifted the building slightly further west. Northey contends the move will take away even more parking. Fellow board members Mardi Allen and Paul Johnson were quick to respond to Northey. Allen said she feels the proper plans are in place to restore and even add to the last parking. She said the church property could easily be used for that…bringing a total of 74 spots. Currently, she says, they only have about half that. Allen expressed her frustration with Northey for raising the issue at the last minute, saying he’s making them feel as though they weren’t doing their job correctly. Northey strongly denied he was implying that.
Supervisor Paul Johnson said that by not approving plans and specifications today (Tues.) would push back the project, and that wouldn’t be acceptable to him. He said it would add even more to construction costs.
By approving plans and specifications, the supervisors also set July 27th at 10:00 a.m. as the deadline to receive bids. The bids will be opened that afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at a special meeting of the Dickinson County Expo Building, with the bid to be awarded August 3rd.
