City leaders received a construction update on the family entertainment center and approved a contractor bid to extend utilities serving the project.

A staff member reported that the building slab is poured and cured, the steel "red iron" framing is going up and underground conduits for plumbing and electrical are in place. The presentation noted that the Miller Tippens group is managing the project on-site and the team expects the structure to be substantially in place “next summer” if current schedules hold. The staff member said a fly-through video of the interior will be shown at a future council meeting.

The council then considered and approved acceptance of the low bid from Matthews Trenching for $204,855 for materials and installation of water lines, sewer lines and manholes that extend service past the family entertainment center and tie into the building utility room at the southwest corner. During discussion staff clarified that at a prior meeting the council had approved “up to $250,000” for an extension; the actual contract for the orange line approved previously was approximately $150,000. The $204,855 figure on tonight’s agenda—described as the yellow line—covers a deeper gravity-flow section of pipe (staff said portions reach about 30 feet deep) intended to avoid placing critical pipes under the parking lot and to tie into the building’s utility room so future maintenance is easier.

Councilmember Corey Crabtree moved to approve the Matthews Trenching bid; the motion passed on roll call vote.

Why this matters: the utility extension both enables the entertainment center and aims to avoid future maintenance problems by routing sewer/wastewater to a gravity line instead of under parking surfaces. The council emphasized doing the work “right the first time” to avoid passing costs to future administrators.

Details recorded in the meeting:
- Project manager/installer named in the presentation: Miller Tippens (construction manager on site).
- Approved bid: Matthews Trenching, $204,855 (listed on the agenda and approved by motion). The presenter said the previously authorized orange-line work cost roughly $150,000 but the yellow-line extension on tonight’s agenda is the $204,855 work being approved.

Sources and next steps: staff said they will continue to update the council at future meetings and provide the fly-through video at the next council meeting when available. The council did not set an additional public hearing on this item.