LITCHFIELD -- Renovation of the Bernie Aaker Auditorium is expected to begin in early March after Meeker County awarded the bid Tuesday to Kue Contractors of Watkins.
The winning bid was $1,405,111 -- with $5,500 of that going toward an additional option of floor finishing and painting. Kue Contractors outbid its closest competitor from East Bethel by $29,209.
"The bids seem to be ... pretty competitive," said Meeker County Administrator Paul Virnig. "Kue Contractors have worked with the school before and the county, so (the County Board) has decided to go ahead."
In previous months, Meeker County, the city of Litchfield and Litchfield School District had agreed for each agency to fund $500,000 toward the budgeted $1.5 million renovation.
The county and school district reached a financing agreement in October that would see the school district paying back a loan of $500,000 from the county in five years at an interest rate of 5 percent. Meeker County will pay its share from its capital projects fund. The city of Litchfield in December approved a financing package worth $580,000 in general obligation bonds.
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In addition to the bid awarding, Virnig said the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday also authorized the county to help fund an additional $50,000 to the project in case the renovation is over the budget. Virnig said the board was acting on a recommendation made by the project's intergovernmental committee. The city and the school will also need to approve the $50,000 increase in the project budget.
Virnig said an auditorium servicing crew will begin removing the old seats and stage components from the building by early next week. Virnig said Tuesday afternoon that he had not yet talked to the contractor about its start date, but he hopes for the renovation to start early next month.
In an interview last month, Virnig said completion of the project was expected before June 13 to allow performances of the community play to commence in July, but full completion is not required for the community play to continue as planned.
Virnig previously said that about $500,000 of the budgeted cost will be for stage-related equipment such as lighting, an audio system and stage curtain replacement. Another $750,000, he said, would go toward the mechanical needs and $250,000 would go toward seating, repainting of the interior, and suspending the ceiling.
According to Tribune archives, the 850-seat auditorium was built in the 1930s and hosted school plays, performances and many community events and activities. Meeker County owns the building, the school district leases the auditorium and the city of Litchfield contributes $22,000 per year for maintenance.
