Engineering services agreement approved for Westwood clubhouse

Newton City Council last month approved an engineering services agreement from Bolton & Menk for the Westwood Golf Course Clubhouse site grading project, which is needed if officials want to seek bids and award contract for grading the site of the long-awaited new clubhouse.

The resolution was approved as part of the consent agenda during the Jan. 16 meeting. The $15,700 engineering services agreement will be paid using American Rescue Plan Act funds. According to city documents, the city’s engineering consultant has been provided the following tasks:

• Data collection

• Project management during design

• Construction drawings and bid documents

• Engineer’s cost estimate

• Project bidding services

In September 2022, the citizens of Newton voted in favor of passing a $1.6 million park bond referendum, a portion of which would go towards a new clubhouse. One year later, construction bids were received and ultimately rejected by the council under recommendation from city staff.

Construction bids came in between $2.5 million and $3.3 million. Newton Administrator Matt Muckler told council at the time that these prices were too high for the city to afford and that a phased approach may be suitable. Muckler told Newton News he was hoping to see bids well below the $2 million mark.

On Dec. 18, the Newton City Council voted 6-0 to demolish the existing clubhouse. The city received a total of eight bids. Council awarded the contract to Midwest Demolition Contractors, Inc. of Walford, who submitted the lowest responsible bid of $23,815. It will also be paid using ARPA funds.