by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Watab Park will probably get a new shelter building sometime this summer.
The Sartell City Council at its April 8 meeting authorized a contract for Bob Strack of Strack Buildings to marshal forces for the project. Strack’s job will be to guide a design team, come up with cost estimates, help select an architect and engineering firm, and oversee the construction. Sartell hired Strack as construction manager several years ago for the construction of the public-works maintenance building. The council approved a contract for Strack, not to exceed $35,000.
The new facility will include a building and an outdoor patio area. It will be as close as 50 feet to the Sauk River, which runs through Watab Park.
Mayor Joe Perske said there are many attractive shelter designs available to consider. Sartell residents, Perske said, want a new shelter because the current one is aged and quite dated.
The shelter will cost between $75,000 and $80,000, including the contract cost for Strack’s services, said Mike Nielson, Sartell city engineer.
Sartell Financial Director Mary Degiovanni said the shelter will be paid for by half-cent regional sales-tax revenue.