By JANIE SLAVEN<br>Record Staff Writer
WHITLEY CITY — McCreary County Fiscal Court met in special session Wednesday morning, approving the local park board’s bid recommendation for the construction of a multigenerational facility at the community park currently under development.
The board agreed with architect Jerry Taylor in recommending VanHook Enterprises of Somerset to build the 8,000 square foot building, which will house the McCreary County Senior Citizens Center in addition to being available for community youth activities.
Out of 11 applicants, VanHook submitted the low bid of $932,000 with Gilpin Construction submitting the next lowest at $949,900. Taylor wrote to Judge-Executive Blaine Phillips that either contractor would be suitable for the project.
“VanHook Enterprises is well known to our firm [Taylor-Whitney Architects],” Taylor wrote. “In the last five years they have served as a mechanical/electrical subcontractor on at least five similar size projects. They have always performed well. Previous to forming VanHook Enterprises, Mr. VanHook was a partner in G&G; Contracting. His firm completed several building projects for our firm, all on time and in budget.”
The center’s estimated budget was $904,000 with $726,027 allocated for the building and $205,963 allocated for site work. VanHook’s bid has also allowed the board to include an $28,677 alternate installation of multi-purpose sports flooring in the gymnasiums instead of a concrete slab.
McCreary County Fiscal Court approved VanHook’s bid as well as a $7,308 inspection fee for Arnold Consulting Engineers for a total project cost of $967,985.
In addition to the gym, the facility features dining and exhibit space. The gym will include brackets for future installation of an elevated walking track.
“It’s multipurpose,” park chair JC Egnew said. “The kids can use it nights and weekends while the seniors can use it during the day.”
Egnew went on to say that the budget should cover the project “inside and out” as the economy has contributed to the availability of contractors.
“We’re hoping to have this by Thanksgiving,” Egnew said. “Projects like this can be accelerated because people are looking for work.”
Judge Phillips asked when construction would begin to which Egnew responded “as soon as the weather breaks.”
“This is one of the most important votes I’ve had the pleasure of participating in,” Phillips said, adding that the construction would be a prime example of the county’s occupational tax dollars at work.
Another example of slow but sure progress could be found the week before during Fiscal Court’s regular monthly meeting when the Lake Cumberland Area Development District’s David Rowland updated court on the implementation of enhanced 911.
Rowland said his team completed a GPS database of all structures within the county in December and is currently about halfway through mapping roads which for various reasons do not match the existing database.
“We try to utilize the name that the residents use as their postal address,” Rowland said.
As a result of the delay, the county has been granted a six-month extension for a Homeland Security grant to purchase equipment, which is now expected to ship on March 12. That $113,000 grant now expires on June 30.
Rowland told the court that the 911 Center’s Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) should be ready for testing in April or May. Depending on mapping verification, the state could approve the county’s application for wireless funding and have its enhanced service online in June or July.
