Members of the Ellsworth City Council voted unanimously Monday night to authorize city administrator Rusty Varnado to sign a consulting agreement aimed at the eventual demolition of the former Ellsworth County hospital building.

However, the agreement, which will include a cost estimate on tearing down the multi-story brick building, has a 30-day signing delay and is not to exceed $21,000 to National Catastrophe Restoration of Wichita and Olathe. Varnado recommended the 30-day stipulation after city attorney Patrick Hoffman talked with a lawyer for a Manhattan investor, who indicated he was still interested in seeking tax credits to rehabilitate the building.

The city administrator said he also received a letter from the owner, a Nebraska limited liability corporation, saying it was in the process of developing a plan, a statement city officials have heard before.

National Catastrophe is supposed to start this month and finish its assessment of the old hospital by February, including providing an engineer’s report on structural deficiencies and best practices for supporting the building as materials are removed. Written proposals for the proper removal of asbestos also is part of the agreement.

The city originally set the cost of demolition at $500,000; however, the presence of asbestos is expected to increase that figure significantly.

In other business, city officials received unexpected news on two projects during a briefing by Jon Halbgewachs of Ellsworth’s Kirkham & Michael.

Water is seeping into the south detention basin at the intersection of Kansas Highways 14 and 140.

Halbgewachs said he wasn’t sure where the water was coming from and neither was the contractor; however, the contractor did not think it was seepage from an adjacent stream.

Halbgewachs said the north basin across the highway was expected to drain once both phases of the project were equalized.

He said there should be no standing water, thus no mosquitoes, a concern some area residents have voiced.

The detention project is aimed at protecting downtown Ellsworth from flooding by allowing for the slower release of stormwater from the north.

Cahoj Earthmoving of Atwood, which started excavating work the week of Sept. 13, submitted the low bid on the project of $396,000. The original construction budget obligation was $565,450, of which 80 percent or $452,360 will be paid by a grant through the Kansas Department of Transportation.

At the request of the contractor, the council approved a change order for $48,000 — 80 percent of which will be paid by the KDOT grant.

The other issue raised by Halbgewachs involved the turning lanes at Kansas 140 and 156. The city received a single bid from APAC for $666,503, which was beyond the engineer’s estimate of $450,000.

Halbgewachs suggested the city could cut about $150,000 for the project by eliminating an asphalt overlay.

“It’s not going to look nearly as nice, but it will be functional,” he said,

City administrator Varnado suggested the project be redesigned and put out for bids again in the spring.

Also Monday:

• Rural Ellsworth resident Bob Fredrickson was approved as a member of the city planning and zoning commission. He replaces Mike Plett.

• Varnado reported that improvements approved by the city council to the former recreation center (the former armory in the south part of town) have been finished.

• Following an executive session, the council approved a 3 percent cost of living wage for city employees and a 2 to 3 percent merit increase, based on employee performance.