Carroll County commissioners opened bids for county paving and carpet projects July 14 and discussed next steps after receiving only single responses.

For paving, staff reported one bid from GMI covering multiple projects: an administrative building lot, Mountain View parking lot and sidewalks, an impound lot requested by the sheriff, and assorted patching. Line items reported in the bid included $60,920 for the administrative building work, $398,460 for the Mountain View parking lot and driveway, $18,800 for a smaller piece, and other items leading to a reported total toward $1,618,000 across all scopes mentioned in the RFP. Commissioners said the RFP had been issued as separate projects and asked staff to total the separately bid items and return with consolidated numbers; earlier board discussion indicated an initial budget estimate of roughly $650,000 and that the delegation had asked for firmer pricing before approving supplemental funding. GMI was the lone bidder and commissioners said staff should verify totals and bring a recommendation to a subsequent meeting rather than immediately award a package contract.

For carpet installation, the only timely paper bid reported was from Cobalt Construction Management for work in the county attorneys office, the sheriffs office and portions of the jail. Staff stated that a separate company emailed a proposal, but the RFP required a paper submission; commissioners instructed staff to confirm whether a compliant paper copy had been delivered. The board tabled carpet award decisions to the next meeting rather than accept an emailed bid that may not comply with the RFP terms.

Commissioners noted the practical advantage of separate line-item bids so the county can pick specific projects rather than take an all-or-nothing lump sum.

Ending: Staff were asked to total the separate paving bid line items, confirm delivery of any paper carpet proposals, and return with clear recommendations at the next meeting before any contractor awards are made.