The Safe Routes to School project and the Raydene Park Hike and Bike Trail are completed. Kathy Pritchett of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism along with Paul Stoner of EBH and Associates, Outside Utilities Supervisor Paul Nordyke, Jan Leonard, City Inspector Joshua Grubbs, Hugoton Hermes reporter Kay McDaniels, Brian Kroth of JKL Construction, Inc. and Inspector Marc Chaffin made the trek along Raydene Park’s new Hike and Bike Trail Wednesday morning. The total trail walk is six blocks. JKL Construction, Inc. of Plains, proposed and won the bid of $118,800.55 on the Hike and Bike Trail. Construction was completed last week with the inspection walk Wednesday.
City Clerk Tom Hicks, Leonard, Grubbs, Nordyke, Stoner, USD 210 Superintendent Adrian Howie, Bryant and Bryant Construction head Bud Bryant, Inspector Marc Chaffin, KDOT Greg Adams and Greg’s assistant took a walking tour later that morning of the new Safe Routes to School project. Bryant & Bryant Construction from Halstead won the contract with a bid of $193,244.00 plus estimated engineering costs of $47,059 and $600 City matching funds. The bid covered sidewalks from Sixth Street to Eleventh Street on the west side of South Jackson. The Safe Routes to Schools grant was for $250,000. Hugoton was awarded the Phase II funding for the infrastructure improvement grant in September 2012. At an October 6, 2015 meeting of the City Council in Hugoton, Hicks told the councilmen the project had been let for bids three times, twice as a stand-alone project and then as an inclusion with KDOT’s K-51 pavement project. Every bid received was in excess of $400,000.00. The engineer’s original estimate for the proposed SRTS project was $257,018.24 so all three bids were rejected as too high. The project was let in April 2016 one more time with Bryant and Bryant Construction winning the bid. The SRTS project consists of five blocks.
The Hike and Bike Trail starts at the middle school on the east side of the building by the practice field. The trail goes down to Twelfth Street and crosses over to Raydene Park. The trail runs from Main Street all the way to the Legends baseball field parking area. The trail connects the Safe Routes To School sidewalk with the Raydene Hike and Bike trail for a safer route for students on their way to and from the middle and high school campuses.