Daggett County opens bids for structural fill for new clinic; award delayed pending engineer review

Daggett County Municipal Building Authority members opened sealed bids for up to 900 cubic yards of structural fill for the new county clinic and reviewed preliminary contractor mobilization plans, then recessed to seek immediate engineer input before making an award.

The bids produced a mix of material gradations, delivery plans and prices. County staff said some bids met the engineer’s gradation spec more closely, while others had higher percentages of larger rock or more fines. Because the project specification gives precedence to material meeting gradation and plasticity requirements, board members agreed to defer award until the project engineer confirms which bids are “suitable.”

Bidders and preliminary totals discussed on the record included: - Cowboy Construction (material from Schneider Construction, Lyman): unit and delivery pricing that yielded a total in the high five figures; staff recorded a total near $99,552 for the option that required rescreening and hauling into county stockpile before final delivery. - Black’s Fork Dirt Works: bid shown as $27.50 per yard material, $46.80 per yard delivery for an $59,440 total (800-yard pricing used for the bid math). - Cowboy Construction (material from SCI, Lyman): $27.50 per yard material and $43.13 delivery for a total shown as $56,504. - Burdick Materials (a CRH company): called “3/4-inch road base” but whose gradation sheet showed a higher proportion of larger rock; per-yard material $30.52, delivery $53.63, total $67,320. - Sunroc (quoted from Green River): 1-inch road base at $33.66 per yard material and $43.13 delivery for a total of $61,432.

County staff emphasized that some high bids included an extra handling step (haul to county stockpile, rescreen and then move to the clinic site), which raised cost but might meet gradation requirements. One staff member told the board, "I just got off the phone with the engineer, and they were good with everything passing a 1 inch screen as long as it was only 5% retaining on a 3 quarter inch screen." That engineer guidance is the standard the authority asked to have applied when evaluating which bids meet the written specification.

Board members and staff repeatedly said the priority is to select material that meets the engineer’s specification rather than simply choosing the lowest price. One member summarized the approach: if multiple bids are judged to meet spec, the authority will then compare price and source; if only a single bid meets spec, that bid will be selected regardless of origin.

Because several bids differed substantially on gradation (one bidder’s gradation sheet showed roughly 15% of material not passing a 3/4-inch screen, exceeding the engineer’s 5% allowance), staff asked the engineer to review the submittals in real time. The authority voted to recess the MBA meeting and rejoin the regular county commission meeting to allow staff to secure the engineer’s availability and return to make an award while commissioners remained available.

The bidding process and discussion also included logistics for the clinic groundbreaking planned for July 8 and contractor mobilization. Staff reported footings and foundation work on the water treatment project were inspected and progressing; they also described coordination with Tri-County Health for a July 8 event (lunch versus breakfast) and rental conflicts at the pavilion. Those operational details will continue to be managed by staff as construction mobilizes.

The authority recorded that the bids were received on July 1 and that the engineer will review gradation, proctor and plasticity data provided by bidders before the authority finalizes award. No final award or contract was approved for structural fill during this meeting.