Otsego council awards contracts for cold‑storage facility, approves construction‑manager amendment

The City Council of the City of Otsego on April 14 voted to accept bids and award contracts for a planned cold‑storage facility and approved an amendment to the construction‑manager agreement to move the project into the construction phase.

Council members were presented with a bid tabulation and project cost summary after bids opened March 27. City staff said 29 bids across six work scopes were received; several bids were rejected or withdrawn during post‑bid vetting for missing required forms or scope items. Ben Albrecht, representing the construction manager team, answered technical questions about the low bidders and the two withdrawals noted in the packet.

The council adopted Resolution 2025‑16 to accept bids and award contracts for the cold‑storage project and authorized the city attorney and Kraus Anderson to finalize AIA contract documents. Council also approved Contract Amendment No. 1 to the AIA C132‑2019 construction‑manager agreement to move Kraus Anderson from preconstruction into construction.

City staff emphasized the procurement followed the city’s advertised bid process and state bid requirements; staff cited missing bid bonds and required affidavits as reasons certain bids were eliminated from consideration. During discussion, councilors asked about the vetting process for bidders and were told missing required forms — not construction pricing — removed some offers from contention.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2025‑16 was made from the dais and seconded; the motion passed on a voice vote. A separate motion to approve the contract amendment was moved and seconded and also passed on voice vote.

Council materials included a detailed bid tabulation and a memo from the construction management team documenting the low bidders, one bid withdrawal, and a project cost summary; council did not read a final total construction price into the public record during the meeting.