Charles Hughes Construction awarded $2.2 million contract by Kinston City Council
Monday’s Kinston City Council meeting had a couple of strong items on the action agenda, with one decision held off for a bit.
The Retail Strategies contract proposal was placed on the table for a one-year contract of $25,000. Although the board was mostly on board with the proposal, discussions came up about where money would be appropriated from and the plan is to wait until the next meeting in January. Kinston Mayor Don Hardy said he’s optimistic about a deal getting done.
“The idea’s not off the table,” Hardy said. “We’re trying to see where we can get funding, but we’re getting a little closer to bringing in retail and (additional) restaurants into the city.”
What will be done is the Queen Street project, with the bidder — Charles Hughes Construction — granted the opportunity. The organization was awarded $2,164,164, plus a 5 percent contingency of $108,208.20, bringing the total to $2,272,372.20.
The items provided in the Queen Street endeavor are tree uplighting, repainting existing metal traffic signal poles, providing site furnishings — such as benches, trash cans and bike racks — installing a concrete pavement overlay, re-lamping existing light fixtures and providing wheel stops.
“We were able to make the decision about renovations being done for our downtown area and moving a step closer with the revitalization, which was a highlight of the meeting,” Mayor Pro Tem Felicia Solomon said.
Kinston Mayor Don Hardy was recently appointed to serve on the National League of Cities Small Cities Council. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News
It was also announced that the mayor was also appointed to serve on the National League of Cities Small Cities Council, something Hardy said he was excited to be a part of.
“It’s a great step in the right direction, and I’ll have the chance to see what others are doing across the nation,” Hardy said. “I look forward to going to the National League of Cities meetings and talk at the congressional caucus in March. I’m also thankful to serve on the Public Safety and Crime Prevention Federal Advocacy Committee by Karen Freeman-Wilson, the president of the committee and mayor of Gary, Ind.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of this for the city and as long as we’re at the table, we’ll get a piece of the pie.”
The next city council meeting will be held Monday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. There is a work session at 5:30 p.m.
