HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council gave approval to a bid for the next phase of the North Main Street project during Tuesday’s meeting.

The bid from Vogts Parga totals $3,543,173. The next phase of the project will run from 13th down to 5th Avenue and include new utilities, rebuilding the sidewalk curbs and gutters, and a resurfacing of the street. The project involves eight city blocks instead of four as in the three previous phases that started at 30th Avenue four years ago.

As with the previous phases of the project, most of the utility work will be done this fall with the rest of the project completed in the spring. However, if weather delays the project too far, the mill and overlay of the street could wait until the spring of 2021.

The council also approved new contracts with the unions representing its service workers, 911 dispatch, police and fire, and approved the budget for 2020, which calls for a .28 mill increase. The increase amounts to less than $4 per year on a $100,000 home.