COOK - The city council here voted on Thursday to award a construction bid to Utility Systems of America, or USA, for the first phase of the Zup’s project. This part of the project will involve infrastructure work, including the construction of a main water loop on the south side of Hwy. 53. A total of five bids were presented to John Jamnick of JPJ Engineering and Ben Johnson of the DBS Group on Tuesday, Oct. 8, who then recommended the bid from USA to the board.

Johnson stated that they intend to work on the Zup’s project through the winter as much as possible, weather permitting. Once completed, the project should result in a building that is a foot higher and 1,000 square- feet larger than the previous one. There are also plans for a freshly paved parking lot that could potentially include a larger entrance at the west end, should the company choose to take the advice of some of the council members.

A second meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. to acknowledge the awarding of a bid for the second part of the project, which will center around site development and improvement. Bids for this part of the project will be presented to Jamnick and Johnson on Monday, Oct. 28.

In other business, the council:

Passed a resolution to correct a clerical error regarding the Old Muni’s opening and closing times on Sundays. The Muni will now be allowed to open at 10 a.m. and must close by 1 a.m.