City Awards Contract for New Youth Club

by Rachel Dahl -- The Fallon City Council met in a special meeting today to approve the construction contract for the new William N. Pennington Fallon Youth Center. The contract was awarded to K7 Construction, Inc., of Reno, Nevada in the amount of $5,339,400. Four bids were received and opened by the City on February 21, 2019, with K7 Construction providing “the lowest responsive, responsible bid,” according to the Council agenda documents. Construction will begin May 1, 2019 and is estimated to take ten months. Gary Imelli, Treasurer of the Fallon Youth Club spoke on the record, “on behalf of the Youth Club I want to thank the City and the County and the Pennington Foundation and all your staff who have worked so hard to make this happen. We will do whatever needs to be done on our end to be ready and we thank you on behalf of the kids who will benefit from this project.” The Pennington Foundation was also responsible for the grant that made the recently constructed senior center, Pennington Life Center, building possible. This Pennington Foundation grant will cover construction of the new Fallon Youth Center and related improvements. The building will be a block building of approximately 15,000 square feet and will be specifically designed to meet the current and future needs of the youth of the community. The building will have a large multipurpose room with a stage platform and kitchen facilities to support the nutrition program for the Youth Center, learning rooms with computers, a recreation center, art room, teen center, meeting rooms, hangout areas, and administration and conference rooms to administer the Youth Club programs. The facility will also have a separated playground and outdoor recreational area for the youth to enjoy. The site will enjoy an expansive parking area as well as a drop off and pick up zone for the children. The total estimated project cost is $5,845,048.26. Other support for the Youth Club comes from the City which will contribute the land, utility meter and hookup fees, landfill fees, and building permit fees, while Churchill County will make a significant cash contribution to the project. The county contribution will be based on funding made available when Enel Green Power, the Stillwater geothermal company, chose not to request a sales and use tax abatement this year. “We are so appreciative of the generosity of the William N. Pennington Foundation,” said Mayor Ken Tedford. “Mr. Pennington had a strong love of community and a desire to help people and families, especially children and the elderly. This project would not happen without the generous contribution and commitment from the Pennington Foundation.” Churchill County Commissioner, Pete Olsen echoed Tedford’s sentiments regarding the support from the Pennington Foundation. “I can’t say enough good about the Pennington Foundation, how awesome they’ve been to work with and what a blessing to our community,” he said. “We are fortunate to be given these opportunities and we are pleased they’ve chose our community to support the youth and the seniors, I’m really at a loss for words.” The Pennington Foundation, which was formed in 1989, continues Mr. Pennington’s strong sense of purpose and commitment to nonprofits, charities and the people of Nevada by providing grants primarily to northern Nevada-based organizations in the areas of education, community services, health care, and medical research. “Our community will be forever grateful to Mr. Pennington and his foundation for the support of the recently completed William N. Pennington Life Center and the new Fallon Youth Center,” Tedford said. “Their contributions to our youth and senior citizens will have a significant positive impact on our community for years to come.” Bids for the project were also received by Walker River Construction in Schurz, Q&D Construction from Sparks, and Ferguson Construction in Fallon.   Support local, independent news – contribute to The Fallon Post, your non-profit (501c3) online news source for all things Fallon. Never miss the local news -- read more on The Fallon Post home page. Sign up to receive updates and the Friday File email notices.