Council accepts PRT bid for metal building, pending engineering review

Council members at a Friday evening meeting at Fair City Hall voted to accept PRT Builders' $1,149,004.24 bid for the metal-building portion of a new municipal facility, contingent on an engineering review and standard contract preparation.

Councilors reviewed seven submissions, of which five were treated as valid bids. One electronic submission was determined to be invalid (a Dropbox link that the submitting company later said was not theirs), and one package only covered the roof and was not a full bid. The apparent low bid, Harvard and Reese, submitted a total of $995,780; the council ultimately moved to accept PRT's $1,149,004.24 offer.

The council heard staff explain how bids were structured. Each bidder priced three components separately — the arena portion, the office portion and the stock-pen portion — and provided a total. An addendum dated 09/10/2025 was acknowledged as part of the procurement package. Staff noted lead times for prefabricated metal buildings of roughly 15 to 22 weeks and said the construction solicitation for the remaining work is expected to go out in the first weeks of October.

Bids read into the record included the following totals (arena / office / stock pen / total): - TSJ Construction: $1,176,463.50 / $50,000 / $25,000 = $1,251,463.50 - Harvard and Reese: $839,807 (arena) / $80,036 (office) / $75,009.37 (stock pen) = $995,780 (total reported in discussion) - No No Steel Buildings (as recorded): $1,106,773 (arena) / $118,006.19 (office) / $74,008.37 (stock pen) = $1,300,229 (total) - PRT Builders: $964,001.52 (arena) / $102,006.22 (office) / $82,006.50 (stock pen) = $1,149,004.24 - BUSC Incorp. (recorded as BUSC Incorp.): $1,042,800 (arena) / $109,003.75 (office) / $77,006.10 (stock pen) = $1,229,007.85

Staff and councilors discussed differences among bids and noted that some bidders included bid bonds while others did not. Staff clarified this agenda item covered only purchase of the metal building package (not foundations, concrete or general construction) so the town could order the metal building early given long manufacturer lead times.

Council member Morgan moved to accept PRT Builders' bid, saying, “I would, I'd make a motion to accept the bid from, PRT pending the engineer review.” Council member Schollers seconded the motion. The presiding officer announced, “Motion carries.” The record does not contain a roll-call vote tally of named votes.

During the discussion staff reported financing context: the council has received a roughly $500,000 commitment from the PRT board via the county and staff said they are pursuing additional insurance proceeds. Staff also said they have a conditional funding award pending insurance documentation from the CIB: a $2,500,000 grant and a $500,000 loan at 1 percent. The council asked staff to complete the engineering review, prepare contract documents and notify the selected bidder to begin procurement and payment steps.

Next steps noted in the meeting record include completing the engineering review before final contract award, notifying PRT of the conditional selection, finalizing bond and insurance documentation, and proceeding with the separate solicitation for site work and construction later this fall.