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Managing editor

The Seasons at Bunker Hills will shut down two and a half months earlier than planned.

The restaurant and the Bunker Bar grill at the city of Coon Rapids-owned Bunker Hills Golf Course Clubhouse had been scheduled to close March 15, 2011 when the current lease expires.

The existing clubhouse would then be demolished as part of the construction, which is now under way, on the new clubhouse adjacent to it at the golf course.

But in an agreement between the city and the restaurant owner, Bunker Hills Corporation, the Coon Rapids City Council has approved terminating the lease effective Dec. 31, 2010.

That will mean the existing building will be demolished in late January 2011 instead of March.

The Seasons has been the restaurant/banquet center at the clubhouse since the 1970s, but Bunker Hills Corporation was not among the finalists chosen by the council for consideration as the new food and banquet vendor at the new clubhouse.

The council was scheduled to interview the finalists at a work session July 29. They are Town and Country Catering, Lance Hospitality and Morrissey Hospitality.

“The three firms... are all outstanding companies that would serve the new facility very well,” said City Manager Matt Fulton.

According to the amended lease agreement, the city and Bunker Hills Corporation have determined, after careful consideration, that it is mutually advantageous to modify the terms, rent and removal of the lessee’s property.

The amended lease would allow the city to continue progress with the construction of a new clubhouse in a timely manner and allow Bunker Hills Corporation “to avoid operational difficulties of the winter and spring of 2011,” the agreement states.

The restaurant will close down at the end of The Seasons’ Christmas dinner theater presentation, which begins in late November and continues through December, Fulton said.

The months of January, February and March have traditionally been slow months for the restaurant’s business, he said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bunker Hills Corporation will have from Jan. 1 to Jan. 14, 2011 to remove its property.

With demolition of the clubhouse scheduled for late January, plans are being made for the Bunker Hills Golf Pro Shop and the Minnesota Section of the PGA, which both office at the clubhouse, to move into office space elsewhere while construction continues on the new clubhouse, according to Fulton.

The goal will be to have a portion of the new clubhouse ready for occupancy by the golf course pro shop and the PGA section when the 2011 golf season starts in March or whenever weather permits, Fulton said.

With the demolition of the existing clubhouse taking place earlier than anticipated, work on the parking lot expansion, which is planned for the site of the existing clubhouse, will be able to start earlier than expected, according to Steve Gatlin, city public services director.

But that will also depend on winter weather conditions, Gatlin said.

However, the hope is that the planned June 1 opening date for the new clubhouse might occur earlier, he said.

Construction on the new clubhouse began in June.

Last week the council awarded the third of a series of contracts for the project.

They were to Southern MN Woodcraft for architectural woodwork, cabinet and tops in the amount of $142,700; The Stage Equipment Company for theater equipment totaling $23,441; Wasche Commercial Finishes Inc. for painting and coatings in the amount of $29,300; and Bartley Sales Co. for miscellaneous specialty totaling $29,300.

At prior meetings, the council had awarded 22 contracts for the project out of 32 bid divisions.

Three items did not receive bids in the first bidding cycle - glass and glazing, lockers and signage - and these will be bid again by the construction manager, Amcon.

In addition, contracts that directly affect the food and beverage operation will be bid once the council has approved a vendor, probably in August.

According to Todd Christopherson, Amcon, the project is on schedule and under budget by some $462,000.

This reflects the contracts that have been awarded to date, the alternates approved by the council and the add-ons required by the city inspection department to reflect code upgrades, Christopherson said.

On Christopherson’s recommendation, the council approved 10 of 13 alternates totaling $114,049.

But the council did ask Christopherson to take another look at an alternate he did not recommend - an upgrade to the roof shingles which would add $17,500 to the project cost.

Both Mayor Tim Howe and Councilmember Scott Schulte wanted more examination of the quality and life span of the roof shingle recommended and the heavier duty shingle proposed in the alternate.

According to Howe, a very visual roof line is very important to the building.

The project has a $9,279,412 estimated cost when design and engineering and construction manager costs are added to the construction work.

The council has sold $4,225,000 in general obligation revenue bonds to fund a portion of the costs, which will be paid back over 25 years from golf course revenues.

Those bonds have been sold through the Build America Bonds program which was part of the 2009 federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The city will save money because 35 percent of the annual interest rate over the life of the bonds will be paid for by the federal government, according to Sharon Legg, city finance director.

The balance, $5.3 million, will come from existing dollars in the city’s facilities construction fund.

Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it