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Council authorizes bids for chip‑seal program despite committee recommendation to pause
Summary
Despite a recommendation from the Public Improvement and Transportation (PIT) committee to pause the program because of budget uncertainty, the council authorized advertising for bids on the annual chip‑seal street preservation project; city staff said $165,000 is budgeted and estimated project cost is about $154,000.
The Marshall City Council voted to advertise for bids on the city’s annual chip‑seal program after hearing both the Public Improvement and Transportation Committee’s budget concerns and staff recommendations to proceed.
City Engineer Jason Anderson said $165,000 is included in the street department budget for the work and staff’s estimate to complete the streets shown in the packet is about $154,000. “We’ve got $165,000 included in the street department budget for this work. To complete the streets that are shown on the map and listed by name in the memo would cost around 154,000 by our estimate,” Anderson said.
Council members noted the PIT committee recommended pausing the program because of uncertainty around the upcoming budget and contract negotiations; one committee member said the recommendation was driven by financial caution rather than opposition to the program. “It’s not that the PIT committee opposed this, it’s just that we're looking at budgetary issues…we just thought it'd be good. I didn't have to spend the money this year,” a council member who serves on PIT said.
Staff and the council also discussed pavement‑management strategy, including prioritizing newer overlays for chip sealing and monitoring alternative pavement rejuvenator products that could avoid the debris and roughness associated with traditional chip seal. Tracy (staff) and Jason noted other products are under study and that some cities are using promising alternatives.
Motion and vote: Council member Amanda moved to authorize advertising for bids on the chip‑seal project; the motion was seconded by Council member C and passed.
Budget context and next steps: Staff will advertise for bids and return with bids for council consideration; the council noted continued scrutiny of pavement management and budget timing before awarding contracts.
