MANKATO — Approving the $13.8 million renovation and repairs to Mankato’s All Seasons Arena was an elaborate affair Monday night.
It was not as complicated as the years-long process required to design the fixes and plan the financing for the modernization of the aging community ice rink. And maybe not as knotty as the upcoming 18-month reconstruction project, which will be conducted even as the two-rink facility remains open to youth hockey practices, high school games and figure skating events.
But authorizing the long-awaited ASA project required 10 City Council resolutions to select the variety of construction and consulting firms to do the work and to pick the funding sources for Mankato’s nearly $8 million share of the cost.
“Do we officially get to call this an omnibus?” Council President Mike Laven wondered just before all 10 were approved in a single vote.
The Blue Earth County Board is expected to follow suit Tuesday morning with an only-slightly-less-lengthy set of approvals for its $834,000 contribution. And on April 15, the North Mankato City Council is to provide the final authorization, along with its $3.175 million financial commitment. The same night, the Mankato Area Public School Board is scheduled to chip in $1.5 million over 15 years.
The first five of the 10 resolutions OKed by the Mankato council Monday night authorized contracts with low-bidders on the various aspects of the project.
The largest contract, for the ice system replacement, was for $4.514 million to Rink-Tec International Inc. of Vadnais Heights. The two other bids on the ice contract were rejected.
Met-Con Companies, with a bid of $2.987 million, won the general trades portion of the project, beating APX Inc., which bid $3.269 million, and RW Carlstrom Co., which offered to do the work for $3.47 million.
The plumbing and HVAC contract was awarded to the sole bidder — Malterer Mechanical Inc. of Mankato ($1.115 million).
There were four bids for the electrical work with Laketown Electric Corp. of Waconia submitting the low bid of $396,000. Bids by R&K Electric of Owantonna ($406,000) and BLK Electric of North Mankato ($442,000) were higher, and a bid by Paul’s Electric of New Ulm was rejected.
Dirt Merchant Inc. of Mankato was the only bidder for the site work contract at $206,000.
A $1.272 million contract was approved for Knutson Construction for management and oversight of the wide-ranging improvements. The funding for Knutson covers both the tasks already performed in designing the overall upgrades and coordinating the bidding process, as well as the on-site oversight and quality control of the upcoming work.
The council also approved $425,000 in direct purchases from Becker Arena Products, priced via a government cooperative purchasing agreement, for hockey rink dasher boards and a synthetic ice floor for a dryland hockey training room.
The final $33,000 contract went to Braun Intertec for construction-related testing of fill materials under the ice sheets as well as testing of such things as steel, welding and fire-control materials.
Add up all of the construction-related costs, and the $12.2 million is a bit less than anticipated when the two cities and the county gave approval to proceed with bidding two months ago, city Facilities Manager Jim Tatge told the council.
“We do have some good news. The bids did come back favorable,” Tatge said. “… About $85,000 less than projected.”
Along with all of the construction contracts, the council authorized a pair of financing measures. It consented to the use of $2 million in federal funds provided to the city as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. And it allocated $3 million in already collected but unspent local sales tax revenue.
Mankato is also relying on an upcoming bond sale to cover a portion of its share of the cost, and North Mankato is expected to use that approach for its $2.4 million upfront contribution. When interest expenses are included over the 15-year life of the bonds, Mankato’s cost rises to $7.961 million. North Mankato’s total increases to $3.175 million.
When all costs and contributions are considered — including a $180,000 donation from the Mankato Area Hockey Association and a $166,000 “Mighty Ducks” grant from the state of Minnesota’s Amateur Sports Commission — it becomes a $13.816 million project.
Work is expected to begin soon after the final approvals are granted next week from North Mankato and the School Board. The project is to be completed in time for the 2025-26 hockey/figure skating season. At least one rink will be available for use throughout construction, and both are to be usable next winter during the high-demand months for indoor ice — even as construction continues around the skaters.