Galesburg city administration last night asked City Council to reject the low bidder for planned improvements to Park Plaza, and all four members present obliged.
City Manager Todd Thompson says they received a number of bids but the low bid from Brandt Construction was still about $500,000 more than the $1.4 million budget.
Thompson says administration worked with Brandt to lower the cost but weren’t able to get within the budget. “We’ll work on the bid, to try and get the scope of the project more in line with our budget and then return, hopefully with a bid that we can recommend to you for approval.”
Thompson noted that the bid to demolish the West Theater is proceeding separate from this and should still occur in a “timely manner.”
The space where the theater stands now on South Prairie St. will be incorporated into the revamped plaza.
Council last night did approve an amendment to the liquor ordinance to allow state-licensed brewpubs to have minors on premises until 10:30 p.m. or until food is no longer being served.
This would affect Knox County Brewing Company and Iron Spike Brewing Company and would allow them to operate similarly to a restaurant that happens to have a bar like Applebee’s or Koreana.
