Cloudy with rain ending overnight. Low 58F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%..
Cloudy with rain ending overnight. Low 58F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
A rendering of the proposed Crossroads Park in Sheldon.
A rendering of the proposed Crossroads Park in Sheldon.
SHELDON—The Sheldon Recreation Trails Board is in a position few find themselves in during the current economic climate.
The board has more money to spend than it originally thought after the bids came in for the upcoming Sheldon Crossroads Park trail project. The low bid of $384,618.45 will allow the board to save more than $200,000.
For more than a year, the board has been trying to raise about $300,000, whether it was through the community or by applying for grants. The board already had pledged $300,000 toward the Crossroads trail in December 2020, so the other $300,000 would get the board to $600,000, which it thought was the estimated cost of the trail.
The first sign of good news came during the July 6 Sheldon City Council meeting when Beck Engineering of Spirit Lake estimated the project to cost $524,713, below the board’s estimate of $600,000.
The council decided to move forward with the project and to put it out to bid, which would be revealed at the Aug. 3 meeting.
Seven companies put in bids for the Sheldon Crossroads Park trail and five of them came under budget.
Cory Juergens Construction in Estherville had the lowest bid at $384,618.45.
Sheldon public works director Todd Uhl said he does not have any experience working with Cory Juergens Construction, but Beck Engineering did as it is working with Cory Juergens Construction on a trails project in the Iowa Great Lakes area.
Beck Engineering recommended Cory Juergens Construction for the project.
“There are times on bid days where we take our lumps. It was nice to win one,” Uhl said.
Councilman Tom Eggers jokingly asked Uhl if Cory Juergens Construction builds water towers, referencing the water tower project Sheldon will be putting out to bid soon.
“I’ll be sure to ask, Tom,” Uhl responded as the rest of the council laughed.
Cory Juergens Construction was the only company to come in below $400,000. Beck Excavating of Spirit Lake was the next lowest bid at $446,930.35.
Five of the seven bids came in below $500,000 and the estimate of $524,713.
One company’s bid was above the $600,000 the board budgeted for the project. Howrey Construction of Rockwell City had a bid of $647,812.75.
The opening of the bids concludes a longer-than-anticipated waiting period for the Sheldon Recreation Trails Board.
After pledging $300,000 toward the project in December 2020, the board received word in May 2021 that it was awarded at $100,000 grand from the Wellmark Foundation for the trail.
That following summer, the board raised more than $120,000 toward the project, leaving it only $80,000 short of its goal as it awaited word on a $100,000 grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Later in the year, the board received word it was approved for the $100,000 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant, giving the board about $620,000 to work with for the trail.
However, the Sheldon Recreation Trails Board had to wait for a waiver since the grant funds were pending.
It took until May until the waiver was approved, allowing the board to move forward with the city to put the project out to bid.
At one point, the Sheldon Recreation Trails Board was hopeful for the Sheldon Crossroads Park trail project to be completed by the end of summer, but waiting for the waiver pushed the project’s completion date back.
Councilman Pete Hamill asked what the time frame for the project is.
“We don’t have a construction start, but per contract, they need to be complete by June,” Uhl said. “That’s one of the reasons why we got the number of bids we did because it gives them a good amount of time to finish the project.”
The Crossroads Park trail will connect with the Sheldon Recreational Trail on 34th Avenue and Prairie Trail Road. The Crossroads trail, which would be 10-feet wide and Americans with Disabilities Act accessible, would wrap around Crossroads Lake, which is located just south of the Crossroads Pavilion Event Center on the east side of the community.
The trail at Crossroads Park is proposed to be one mile, which would bring the total distance of the Sheldon Recreational Trail in Sheldon to 7.23 miles.
Sheldon Recreation Trails Board member Keith Rolston was excited to hear how below estimate the bid was.
“It’s going to give us a chance for other amenities around the trail,” Rolston said. “Thought most of the money was going to be eaten up by the trail. Maybe we can put gazebo or rest area up.”
The board has discussed different amenities for the trail in the past, but no decisions were made since it did not know how much the trail would cost.
Early renderings of the trail did have a dock for the pond and a rest area.
“We’ve talked about a splash pad, access to the pond maybe to allow kayaks or paddleboards or some fishing, so that would need to have a dock if we do that,” Rolston said. “Maybe have a rest or watering area for bicyclists or have an area for an air compressor. Nothing is set in stone.”
SHELDON—During the early talk of constructing a second water tower at Country Club Road/Nest Avenue and 16th Street, councilman Pete Hamill me…
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