NEW ULM — The New Ulm City Council awarded the architect and engineering contract for the Rec Center RENU project.

In the December RENU Oversight Committee meeting, JLG was unanimously recommended for the project. JLG was one of two firms that gave a presentation during. JLG impressed the committee with their knowledge of aquatic facilities and addressed all the needs of the city for this project.

JLG’s bid for the project was $621,000. The total estimated budget for the Rec Center RENU project is $9 million.

An agreement for fire protection between New Ulm and the New Ulm Rural Fire Association was approved. The city’s previous agreemented expired December 31, 2018. The new agreement is essentially the same as the expired contract. RFA is paying a fee based on the annual cost of fire protection, times the pro-rata proportion of township residents being served to the residents of the city. For 2019, the estimated fee is $64,680.

A bid was awarded to Cold Spring for the 223-niche columbarium in the city cemetery. Councilor David Christian made the motion to approve the bid. It was recommended by the Monument and Cemetery commission and was budgeted.

“We’re starting to run out of space, and it is the wave of the future,” he said.

The total bid amount is $122,621. The existing Columbarium has 160 sold niches with only 64 remaining.