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Council approves $484,735 sidewalk contract after split vote; members debate scope and costs
Summary
Moab City Council voted 3-2 to award a one-year, citywide sidewalk contract to TWS Construction for $484,735. Councilmembers who opposed the award said bids exceeded the engineering estimate and pushed to reduce scope or develop in-house options; supporters said the work is needed and delays would not guarantee lower prices.
The Moab City Council voted 3-2 on Sept. 23 to award the 2025 sidewalk construction contract to TWS Construction Inc. for $484,735, approving a year-long scope of work to repair and replace multiple sidewalk segments across the city.
The contract award was the most contested item on the agenda. Engineering staff and project managers explained they had developed the project using a streamlined design approach to accelerate procurement and save design costs; that approach left a number of unknowns in the field and included contingency bid items to handle unanticipated conditions (for example, tree root removal and root barrier installation). Staff provided an engineering estimate and a budget figure; the low bid from TWS exceeded the engineering estimate by roughly 45 percent. Staff said the larger unit costs reflect project characteristics: many small, discontiguous segments rather than one long continuous pour, mobilization and multiple clean-out points for concrete trucks, and the smaller-yardage surcharge contractors charge when pouring less than a full truck load.
Councilmembers debating the award described two tensions: the need to begin repairs on high-priority, safety-related sidewalks and the discipline of staying within the property-tax-funded CIP budget that council had allocated for sidewalk work. Several council members urged exploring alternatives before awarding the full scope, including narrowing the contract to highest-priority segments, negotiating with the low bidder for reduced scope or price, or expanding in-house capability to perform future sidewalk work. Supporters of the contract award emphasized that the city has budget capacity in its CIP and that prices were unlikely to be lower later; they argued delaying repair could put residents at risk and that the in-town contractor's lower mobilization cost actually helped bring the price down relative to other out-of-town bidders.
The motion to award the contract was made by Councilmember Jason and seconded by Councilmember Luke. Roll-call votes recorded Councilmember Jason: yes; Councilmember Luke: yes; Councilmember Tawny: yes; Councilmember Caitlin: no; Councilmember Colin: no. The motion passed 3-2.
Staff said they will proceed with necessary contract steps and will continue to discuss longer-term solutions to reduce unit costs, including building in-house concrete capacity, exploring consolidated larger-scope projects to realize economies of scale, and reviewing mobilization and bid packaging to attract competition. Staff additionally said they would return to council with negotiation results if any scope adjustments were made.
