Bids Over Budget for Cart Paths.

Plans for over three thousand feet of new paved cart paths at the Municipal Golf Course may have been skewed by higher than expected bids on the project. Three bids for the eight foot wide, two and one half inch thick paths were opened by Parks Administrator Alan Bull in City Hall last Friday at 2 in the afternoon. The Council had previously approved up to eight thousand dollars to be used for the paths, but the low bid of $12,097 from APAC of Missouri will require more discussion by the Public Services Committee.

Bull said he had hoped the bids would be lower, but estimates for the project were made before the recent increase in oil prices. The two other bids were by Blevins Asphalt at $15,096 and Hicklin Asphalt at $18,720.

Bids on the City’s annual asphalt contract, opened last Monday, showed only a modest increase over the previous year’s bids. The Public Works Committee is scheduled to discuss those bids during tomorrow afternoon’s regular meeting in City Hall at 5:15. Also to scheduled to be considered is a proposal to modify the organization of recycling dumpsters at the recycling center, and a request for annexation.

An old sayin’ in the antique business is that anything is worth exactly what someone is willin’ to pay for it. It works with antiques, the stock market, and in puttin’ in streets.

Goin’ out for bids on big projects for the City is time consumin’ and a hassle for the bidders. It does however, seem ta keep prices in line and keep those pencils sharp.

What always seems strange is how sometimes the bids are so far apart for the same work. Most of the time there are pretty tight bids in the mix, but ever’ now and then they are all over the board.

Tryin’ to outguess bidders seems ta be next ta impossible. All you can do is play your game and hope for a little luck.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Workman's Loan

The Super Handyman
by Al Carrell and Kelly Carrell

We’ve got a fast and easy way to get your next outdoor grill fire off to a super start, and it comes in a can!

A 5-pound coffee can or any can about that size works well. Use a pointed can opener to make holes in the can’s side at the bottom, and then cut out both ends.

Poke two holes near the can’s other end and push wire through them to make a handle.

Set the can into your barbecue pit and fill it with charcoal briquettes. Light them through one of the holes that you made in the can’s bottom, and allow them to burn until they are ready to spread out.

When the briquettes are ready, the can’s handle will be hot, so lift it with gloves or use a large fork.

Now, isn’t that a great way to get briquettes started quickly? It’s a trick that comes in especially handy on a windy day.

Dear Al & Kelly: I usually try to do a thorough checkup on my lawn mower before the mowing season. I also do a mid-season checkup as well. One thing I think is very important to do is to check up under the mower deck itself for rust or heavy buildup of grass. First thing you should always do before examining the deck is disconnect the sparkplugs so it won’t accidentally start. Remove all the buildup grass. I use a knife to cut it out. You can prevent a lot of grass buildup if you spray some cooking spray on the surface after you clean it.