(Continued from page 8)

awarded the contract. The city attorney agreed. "We need Dahme's and this is a terribly hard decision," said Councilman David McGannon, "but I have to go with the recommendation of our engineer and our attorney."
• Mayor Scott Hanlon said that he heard of the news on Friday. "It's been a struggle all weakend of what to do," he said. "This is a tough decision for all of us. Councilman Clare Brotherton said, "It's a regrettable mistake, but we have to go with what the attorney and engineer recommended.
• Drew Johnson said that if the mistake would have resulted in saving the taxpayers a considerable amount of money, then the council could give more consideration to making the change.
• After all was said and done, the council decided to award the bid to the Robert Johnson Construction. The bid came in $50,000 over what the city had budgeted, so they will be able to do the complete project in one year instead of spreading it out over two or more years. Areas being done are Second Avenue West and Third Avenue West from Broadway to State Street and all intersecting streets. The city has a share of the curb and gutter, so it will special assess itself the $50,000 so that the city will not have to take out a loan.
•
• In other action:
• * Set Equalization time for March 17 following the city council meeting, and to reconvene at 6 p.m. on March 18 with any appointments scheduled for that Tuesday.
• * Set the city-wide election for April 8, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. David McGannon and Ron Belden are running in Ward 2, Gary Heitmann and Bert Glover are running Ward 3 and Scott Hanlon and Eddy Nehls are running for mayor. David Blackmun, Jr., is running unopposed in Ward 1.
• * The south substation transformer was sold to Northwestern Energy for $56,000.
• * The old bucket truck was sold to the City of Hecla for $12,100.
• * The baseball committee has met once so far with a second meeting set for March 10. One of the things discussed was not charging for admission at the games. City Finance Officer Anita Lowary said the city netted about $3,500 at the gate. Mayor Scott Hanlon said, "We should be open to try it for a year and see what happens." Councilman Eddy Opp then said, "We have to pay to watch our grandchildren swim at the pool."
• * The council recognized and thanked the Friends of the Library for their donation to the city library. Suzy Oliver and Dodie Martin have raised $396 and since Oliver is leaving Groton, they have decided to close out the account and donate the money to the city. The funds are to be used for buying new books.

(Continued on page 10)