Mason City council to consider arena lease with mall owner, approval of first arena construction bid package
MASON CITY — The City Council in Mason City tonight will consider approving a lease agreement with the owner of Southbridge Mall for the proposed multi-purpose arena to be placed in the building, as well as the bid to start demolition work in the proposed arena space that’s part of the River City Renaissance project.
=== The council will first consider the lease between the city and the mall to lease the arena space. City Administrator Aaron Burnett says the lease has been negotiated for some time and both parties have been waiting for the appropriate time to execute it.
The lease is for an initial 20-year term, followed by four subsequent five-year terms for a total of 40 years. The cost of the lease starts at $180,000 a year for the first five years, increasing by 10-percent each subsequent five-year period.
The mall will be required to clean the facility as part of the lease and the city will pay utility costs and insurance on the facility.
=== The council will consider the first bid package on the arena construction, which includes things like: electrical demolition; mechanical demolition; concrete slab, exterior wall and interior partition demolition; and earthwork and mass excavation.
Mayor Bill Schickel says this first set of bids on the project were competitive. “Five bids came in, very competitive, ranging from about $290,000 all the way to better than $800,000. We’re recommending that the city council go with the low bid from Charlson Excavating in Clear Lake.”
That low bid was for a unit price of $291,500 and $100 per cubic yard for additional rock work. City Administrator Aaron Burnett adds in a memo to the council that Charlson is ready to get started on the project and has an extra interest as the owners are active in the hockey program.
=== The council will also consider approving the details of the second bid package for the arena, which would include the structural steel, concrete foundation and ice plant components of the facility. Bids would be due to the city on January 24th with the council approving the winning bidder at a special council meeting on January 29th.
The council meets tonight at 7 o’clock in the Mason City Room of the Public Library.