Boyd County fiscal court approves entering negotiations for Rush Off Road AML contracts

The Boyd County Fiscal Court voted to enter negotiations with Boca Enterprises and Ferguson Excavating and Construction for two contracts on the Rush Off Road Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) project, officials said Thursday.

The motion, approved by a roll-call vote of 4–0, authorizes county staff to negotiate contracts with Boca Enterprises for Contract A (sanitary sewer and waterline extensions) and Ferguson Excavating and Construction for Contract B (Herbert C. Ross County Road improvements), subject to final review and approval by AML officials and completion of required performance and payment bonds.

The recommendation came from DL Robinson Engineering, which opened six bids for the water/sewer contract and four for the roadway contract. "The low bidder on contract b was Ferguson Excavating and Construction," said Michael Williams, project engineer with DL Robinson Engineering. Williams said Boca Enterprises (the low bidder on the water and sewer contract) is currently performing another AML project and that AML officials reported no issues so far.

The engineer's published estimates for the two contracts totaled about $3.35 million; combined low bids totaled $2.924 million, roughly $300,000 below the estimate, Williams and court members said. Williams told the court he reviewed bidder unit prices, confirmed totals, checked references and verified that both low bidders submitted the required 5% bid bonds.

County officials discussed whether to prioritize local contractors despite the low bids from Boca and Ferguson. "We try to keep the work as local as possible," Commissioner Stapleton said during discussion, but the court's engineering staff advised that award decisions must be justified under the grant and procurement rules. "If we do not choose the lowest bidder, there has to be a justification as to why," said Eric Patton of the engineering team.

Court members also emphasized that the current approval is to enter negotiations only; AML must review and approve the contracts before final signatures. The court recorded the vote after hearing that both bids fell within the available AML grant funding and that the engineering team had conducted due diligence on references and bonding capacity.

The court also opened a short public-comment opportunity limited to agenda items; no callers were recorded. The session adjourned following the vote.