In November, the town of Clarkdale received approval from the Northern Arizona Council of Governments to use its Community Development Block Grant to fund renovations to the Clark Memorial Clubhouse.
The funds will upgrade the 93-year-old building to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act through the refurbishment of bathrooms in the men’s and women’s lounges, as well as the addition of unisex bathrooms and an exterior ramp in the back of the building.
At a meeting on Feb. 26, the Clarkdale Town Council approved a bid by Woodruff Construction to complete the renovations on the clubhouse. Woodruff’s bid is expected to cost a total of $357,482, compared with $495,328.26 by the competing bider Love Contracting. “This amount is greater than the available funding from the CDBG grants,”
Clarkdale Public Works Director Maher Hazine said at Tuesday’s meeting. The total amount allocated with the grant is $325,143, but once $5,000 was paid to NACOG for administration and $24,500 was paid to Architecture Works Green, Inc. for design services, the grant provides $295,643 for construction, resulting
in a shortfall of $61,839 compared to Woodruff’s bid.
Hazine proposed taking $1,552 from designated funds for a court room remodel, and borrowing $60,287 from designated funds for a wastewater line replacement, and then paying that back over time from the general fund.
The Clarkdale Town Council unanimously approved Hazine’s suggestions at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We really feel they’re going to do a great job,” Mayor Doug Von Gausig said of Woodruff. He pointed to
potential additional uses for the clubhouse aside from city functions, noting that an additional ramp in the back could allow it to be more easily used as an outdoor wedding venue.
“It’s a beautiful building,” Von Gausig said. “Very seldom do you actually get to use an historical building like this, but here you’ll be able to, and now even more than ever.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 282-7795 or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
