Commissioners award mold-remediation contract for Forest Service building at county airport

The Ravalli County commissioners voted May 1 to award a contract for mold remediation at the U.S. Forest Service building at the county airport to Tim's Cleaner Carpets and Restoration, after the county received one responsive bid.

The county's procurement notice for the mold-remediation request for proposals ran in the newspaper of record on April 2 and April 9. At the bid opening the county reported a single bid from Tim's Cleaner Carpets and Restoration in the amount of $57,892.36; the contractor explained the proposal priced a conservative, “worst-case scenario” scope and that the actual cost could be lower if less remediation is required. Tim McKay, who identified himself as representing the contractor, told the commission the work is extensive in the crawl space and will include crawl-space ventilation, HEPA filtration while work proceeds, carpet cleaning and antimicrobial treatments for interior finishes.

Tim McKay described testing and mitigation steps: “We did the lab work…which was microbial. And it's extensive throughout the whole crawl space area,” and he told commissioners the contractor will set negative pressure in the crawl space with humidistat-controlled fans and retest after work to confirm remediation.

A motion to award the contract to Tim's Cleaner Carpets and Restoration, not to exceed the bid amount, was moved and seconded on the record; the board recorded three affirmative votes (Greg — aye; Jeff — aye; Chairman — aye) and the motion carried. Commissioners asked staff to prepare a county contract and confirmed with the contractor that work could begin in roughly three weeks depending on the contractor’s current schedule and Forest Service occupancy of parts of the building. The contractor said some remediation equipment is already in place and that the firm could start with a small crew sooner if the county and Forest Service agree on access and sequencing.

County staff confirmed the work will be managed under a formal county contract. The contractor said he will coordinate on-site details with the airport manager and county contact; the commission asked staff to provide the contract to the contractor by email in the coming days.

No public comment opposed the award at the meeting; the contractor thanked the board for the opportunity and praised local cooperative relations with county and Forest Service personnel.