photo by: Elvyn Jones

Construction of the new Baldwin City police station at 203 First St. remains on schedule with the city's police department expected to move into its new headquarters in August. This photograph, taken Sunday, July 12, 2020, shows the exterior completed but work remaining on the building's parking lot.

The Baldwin City Council has approved a $2.01 million bid to upgrade the main sewer trunk line serving the eastern part of the city.

The contract was awarded July 7 to Nowak Construction, of Goddard, the low bidder on the project. David Hamby, of B.G. Consultants, told the City Council that although Nowak was the low bidder, one of the other two bids the city received for the project was within $15,000 of the winning bid. The Nowak bid was also less than the engineer’s estimate for the project of $2.2 million.

Hamby said the city has been planning the project since 2007. The project is not designed to promote new development but to improve service to those on the existing sewer main serving the eastern part of the city. The work will occur from the city sewer plant in the public works yard, 10th and Orange streets, northeast to First and Elm streets.

The sewer main will be financed with a $2.2 million bond issue the city issued in 2014, Hamby said. That would pay for construction of the sewer main and provide a contingency fund, he said.

Nowak has indicated it would start work on the sewer project Aug. 1. The project has a construction schedule of 80 working days and should be completed near the first of the year.

The sewer interceptor will be getting underway just as another big city project is being completed.

Lloyd Builders, of Ottawa, started at the first of year on its $1.35 million contract to raze the old restaurant at 203 First St. and construct the new 5,330-square-foot police station at the site. Baldwin City Mayor Casey Simoneau said the new station was on schedule to be completed late this month or early in August with the police department slated to move into its new headquarters next month

The new station will replace the 1,200-square-foot converted flower shop at 811 Eighth St. that has served as the city’s police station for decades.