County staff report delay in expert services contract for Sawyer; ARPA‑funded gas line report deadline looming
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Summary
Staff said the contractor for the Sawyer expert services agreement initially refused to sign and that a signed contract was expected by the end of the day; a community report tied to ARPA gas line funding is due in about two weeks, creating time pressure.
Heather (staff member) told the commission that the contractor for the Sawyer expert services agreement had been reluctant to sign and that the county was in repeated exchanges with the contractor. Heather said she received an email indicating the contractor would sign and that a signed contract was expected by the end of the day, but as of the meeting she had not seen the signed document.
“There is a deadline for a report to the community 2 weeks from about 2 weeks from today. So they better, get moving, because we're under some now time pressure because of the ARPA funding that's flowed down from the state to the 3 cities for the gas line,” Heather said.
Heather characterized the negotiation as “an unpleasant situation” and said the county was near the end of its tolerance on the matter. The commission did not take formal action during the meeting; Heather reported the contractor had said they would sign but the signed contract had not been presented to staff at the time of the briefing.