Boone council approves grants and contracts, sets public hearing on city land lease

The Boone City Council approved several financing and contracting items and scheduled a public hearing on a city-owned property lease during its meeting. Council members approved a local development grant recommendation, awarded a RISE grant contract for roadway work, authorized out-of-state staff travel to review nitrate-removal treatment, and approved items on the consent agenda including electronic payroll reporting for federally funded projects and an engineering agreement for a stage at Eighth and Story Street.

The council voted to set a public hearing for Oct. 6, 2025, at 6 p.m. to consider the lease and exchange of city-owned real estate. The motion carried on a roll-call vote.

The council approved Resolution 34-24, recommending a BDIF (Business Development Incentive Fund) grant for Crop Plumbing and Heating for renovation work at the rear entrance of a Story Street building. The Economic Development Committee had recommended the grant unanimously and the council voted to approve that recommendation.

Public works staff reported that bids for the Hancock Drive RISE grant project came in well under the engineer's estimate. The council awarded the construction contract to Absolute Crew (award name in the record) in the amount of $2,056,664.55.

Council members also approved an out-of-state travel request for the city's water-design team and operations staff to visit a Minnesota treatment plant to evaluate a nitrate-removal system.

On the consent agenda, the council approved several items without separate discussion, including: - A resolution allowing electronic submission of certified payroll reports tied to federally funded projects (referencing Davis-Bacon requirements for CDBG projects and contractors). - An engineering agreement with Tomatich Engineering for design and plans for a stage at Eighth and Story Street; quoted pricing in the meeting was $4,980 plus $980 per additional site visit (the record noted Short Elliot Hendrickson's proposal priced differently with one site visit included).

The meeting record shows brief department reports and committee updates; several items were informational only and were included in the consent motion. No ordinance readings were listed on the agenda.

Votes at a glance: - Set public hearing on lease/exchange of city property for Oct. 6, 2025, 6 p.m.: Passed (roll-call vote recorded as affirmative). - Resolution 34-24, BDIF grant recommendation for Crop Plumbing and Heating (Story Street): Passed (unanimous committee recommendation; council roll call affirmative). - Award contract for Hancock Drive RISE grant project to Absolute Crew, $2,056,664.55: Passed (roll-call vote recorded as affirmative). - Approve out-of-state travel for water-design and operations staff (to review nitrate-removal treatment): Passed (roll-call vote recorded as affirmative). - Consent agenda (includes electronic certified payroll for federally funded projects/Davis-Bacon, Tomatich Engineering agreement for stage design, and other routine items): Passed (roll-call vote recorded as affirmative).

Context and next steps: The public hearing on city property is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2025; no further details on the lease terms were provided in the meeting record. The Hancock Drive contract award commits project funds and a contractor but the record did not detail the project schedule or start date. The engineering agreement for the Story Street stage was approved as the lower-priced bid after an apples-to-apples comparison noted in the meeting. Additional project timelines and implementation details were not specified during the meeting.