Blue Earth County approves four ditch repair contracts, road agreements, equipment purchase and FEMA buyout consulting

Blue Earth County Board of Commissioners voted Feb. 11 to award four county-ditch repair contracts, approve multiple county road project agreements and equipment purchases, and hire a consultant to prepare FEMA buyout applications for seven flood-damaged or at-risk homes.

The actions, taken during the board’s regular meeting, affect drainage work in several townships, right-of-way acquisitions and trail construction partnerships with cities, the purchase and rental of road maintenance equipment, and contracting for FEMA buyout application support. County staff said the buyout work carries some financial risk for the county if property owners later opt out.

County drainage system coordinator Ryan Hornecker summarized the bidding results for four ditch projects and recommended awards to the lowest responsible bidders. “On January 30, four quotes were submitted for the County Ditch 78 Branch 1 improvement work,” Hornecker said, and ISG recommended awarding County Ditch 78 Branch 1 to Stevens Bobcat and Backhoe LLC for $45,101. The board approved that award; one commissioner abstained from the CD 78 vote, stating a landownership connection to the ditch.

For County Ditch 86 (Beauford Township), Newman Excavating LLC was awarded the repair contract for $49,500. For County Ditch 89, Kruger Excavating of Albert Lea LLC was awarded a lump-sum contract of $69,614 for initial tree-and-brush clearing; Hornecker noted the engineer’s estimate had been about $142,269.23 and commissioners commented on the low bid variance. For County Ditch 95 (Mapleton Township),…