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Commissioners debate high asphalt bids, consider regional options to trim road costs
Summary
Wabasha County commissioners discussed an unusually high single asphalt bid that is costing the county an estimated $600,000 more than neighboring counties, and explored options including regional bidding, pressure on the county's vendor, or a shared asphalt plant.
County commissioners spent an extended portion of their meeting discussing high asphalt prices after staff reported the county typically receives only one bid for asphalt work in Southeastern Minnesota.
Commissioners said the county’s last bid produced a single proposal that represented a wide price gap compared with neighboring counties. "This year, if you remember on our last bid, I want to say it was $90 a ton... In Freeborn County, it's $60 a ton," a commissioner said, describing the disparity. A commissioner estimated the county could be paying about $600 more per truckload in the county’s current arrangements, and characterized the difference as "a lot of money. That's a lot of money."
The board discussed several potential responses, including pressing the county's current asphalt provider (named in the discussion as Mathy Construction) to lower prices, coordinating multi-county bidding, or exploring a county- or region-owned asphalt plant. Commissioners acknowledged major barriers to the latter: asphalt plants require multi-million-dollar investments, staffing and long-term commitments. "Asphalt plants, whether you have a portable one or a permanent one, are millions of dollars, require staff," a commissioner said.
County staff noted that even if several counties pooled demand the transportation costs could still offset savings, and that state transportation agencies have been reluctant to partner on a public plant. There was also discussion of past policy in neighboring states affecting plant operations and whether joint bidding with nearby counties could yield competition.
Why it matters: commissioners said the price differential increases road project costs for the county and for municipalities and townships that rely on county procurement. County officials described the issue as analogous to other regional procurement concentration problems and said they will explore options to increase competition or cooperative procurement with neighboring counties.
No formal motion was recorded on creating a plant or joining bids; the discussion concluded with an instruction to gather more information for future consideration.
