The South End Park…just south of the new Discovery Center…may soon have an official name.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, the Manhattan City Commission is expected to choose one of three names recommended by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board from an original list of 18 names.
Manhattan city manager Ron Fehr says the name Blue Earth Plaza is one name being considered and has significance to the park’s location, with the Blue Earth Lodge of the Kaw Indian Nation located there in the early days.
Other options being considered include Prairie Plaza, which reflects the region and Hartford Plaza, which is based on the name of the steamship that ran aground near the confluence of the Blue and Kansas Rivers in 1855, playing a role in Manhattan’s founding.
There is no cost figure associated with naming the facility because signage costs are included in the overall budget for the park.
And a violent act by Mother Nature has the city of Manhattan looking to replace one its buildings.
Fehr says the city needs to replace the former Traffic Shop on South 6th Street because it was damaged beyond repair last year by a microburst that occurred in August.
Fehr says the city is using a design-build approach for the new Traffic Operations Facility because it’s usually quicker than the traditional design-bid-build project.
The new Traffic Operations Facility is part of the city’s 2012 Capital Improvements Program and is expected to be financed through the CIP Reserve Fund. The new facility is expected to be built on a city-owned lot at the intersection of El Paso Street and 11th Street, north of Ft. Riley Boulevard. The estimated cost of the project is 650-thousand dollars. The contract for design-build phase one services with Schulz Construction is $50,000.
The Manhattan City Commission is considering the contract Tuesday.
The Manhattan City Commission meets Tuesday night at 7 at City Hall on Poyntz Avenue. The meeting is televised live on Manhattan Cox Cable Channel 3.
