County opens bids for two asphalt overlay projects; commissioners refer bids to staff and set midyear budget hearing

At the Board of County Commissioners public meeting on Jan. 7, 2025, county staff opened sealed bids for two asphalt overlay projects and commissioners voted to refer both bid packages to staff for review and recommendation back to the board.

The bids covered "Asphalt Overlay Project 1," which includes Danford Road, South 40 Eighth Street West, Riverside and Washington, and "Asphalt Overlay Project 2," which includes Barrett Road, Bitterroot Drive and Alexander Road. The board heard multiple bids for each package and then voted to send the bids to county staff for analysis.

Why this matters: The projects affect several county roads and will determine which contractors and price proposals the county will consider for resurfacing work. Staff review is expected to include verification of bid bonds and contract compliance before a recommendation returns to the commission.

For Asphalt Overlay Project 1 the bids read into the record were (as stated at the meeting): Wharton Asphalt — $1,062,646 (read in the minutes as $1,000,000.62 $646 / 1,062,646), Riverside/ Riverstone Contracting — $2,106,315.12, Knife River — $816,000, and Askin Construction — $1,899,600. For Asphalt Overlay Project 2 the bids read were Wharton Asphalt — $694,556, Riverside/Riverstone Contracting — $1,117,001.97, Knife River — $1,213,000, and Askins Construction — $619,000.

Commissioner (unnamed) moved to refer the Project 1 bids to staff for review; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The same commissioner moved to send Project 2 bids to staff; that motion was also seconded and approved by voice vote. The board did not award contracts at the meeting; staff will return with recommendations.

Also on the agenda, the board set a public hearing for the county's midyear budget review for Jan. 30, 2025, at 9 a.m. in the commission chambers. The motion to set the hearing was moved and seconded and approved by voice vote.

The commission approved claims as read during the meeting and passed the consent agenda as amended; the consent agenda had been amended earlier in the meeting to remove agenda item 400, the naming of a private road. The claims were read into the record in a sequence the clerk identified as "2508525086" (as read at the meeting).

There were no public comments on the regular consent or filed agenda items during the meeting.

Next steps: County staff will review the bid packages and report back with recommendations; the commission will hold the advertised midyear budget hearing on Jan. 30, 2025.