Low airport hanger bid accepted

An exceedingly favorable bid from KUE Contracting of Watkins for a new hangar at the Hutchinson airport was accepted by the City Council, 3-0, during a special meeting Friday, June 26.

KUE’s bid of $274,680 was the lowest of 13 bids, and was about 35 percent less than estimated. It was a record number of bids for such a project, according to John Olson, Hutchinson’s public works manager and airport manager. The hangar is 95-percent federally funded.

Olson expects construction to begin sometime in August and be completed before winter. Plans call for a 66-foot by 70-foot hangar that will be leased, probably by the Life Link III medical helicopter based in Hutchinson. The hangar could end up being slightly larger than originally planned, he added.

Mayor Steve Cook and council members Jim Haugen and Eric Yost were present for the meeting.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)