Howard County takes three bids under advisement for Kinsey Youth Center masonry and gutter repairs

Howard County maintenance staff presented three sealed bids for repairs to the Kinsey Youth Center and the Board of Commissioners voted to take the bids under advisement.

Maintenance supervisor Bill Stone said the county has been investigating water infiltration at the center for more than a year. The water intrusion is occurring through areas other than the roof and maintenance staff identified corroding gutters with a deteriorated rubber lining as a contributor to masonry damage.

County staff received three sealed bids based on an issued work description and a follow-up addendum that allowed vendors to bid on gutters separately after no bid covered them in the first round. The bids recorded in the meeting were: - Blackmore & Buckner Roofing: $125,350 for removal, repairs, liquid-applied waterproofing and mechanical and electrical work. - Falsco Contracting (Minneapolis): $224,843.50 (bid materials read aloud by staff). - Triscoe Construction Services (Lima, Ohio): wall restoration $39,981 and fire-door restoration $7,625.

Commissioners voted to take the bids under advisement, directing staff to review the proposals and provide them to county engineers for evaluation. Stone said the county likely will defer major work until spring because the procurement and preparatory engineering process has taken longer than expected and seasonal weather limits work this year.

Stone said the county will likely address the gutters on a time-and-materials basis to disassemble them and determine the precise failure mode before committing to a full replacement, since vendors disagreed on the cause and extent of corrosion.

Commissioners asked staff to return with engineer assessments and a recommended contract award once the bids and technical questions are resolved.