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Drainage board approves contractor payments and awards several maintenance contracts
Summary
The St. Joseph County Drainage Board on Oct. 6 approved contractor payments and awarded multiple contracts for ditch and road maintenance, including a $10,230 award for a Monroe job and an $18,010 award for work on the Upper Heston ditch.
The St. Joseph County Drainage Board approved payments to contractors and awarded several maintenance contracts at its Oct. 6 meeting.
The board voted to approve the Oct. 6, 2020, minutes and then accepted a payment list that the surveyor said totaled roughly $28,000 for work completed last month. "All in favor? Aye," the chairman said after a motion to accept the payments was seconded and carried.
Board members read aloud bid figures for multiple jobs and discussed some bidders who had adjusted their calculations. After reviewing bids, the board approved awarding a Monroe job described in the proceedings as "Monroe 7 to 30 tax" for $10,230; a motion to award the contract was made, seconded and carried. The board later approved awarding the Upper Heston ditch job to Jerry Reed for $18,010 after bids were presented.
Board members spent time clarifying procurement practice for different price bands. Members said projects they expected to be "over 150" would require publication; projects "between 50 and 150" would be solicited and the board expected at least three bids. The board discussed proof of publication and what documentation the county attorney would want to see if a job required advertising in local newspapers such as the South Bend Tribune or the Mishawaka Enterprise.
Several bids recited at the meeting showed a range of prices and, in one case, a bidder had modified the scope and calculations. The board authorized staff to follow up on bids that might exceed the board's publication threshold and to publish solicitations where required before opening bids.
The board also approved a separate administrative motion to remove holds on several funds and to rename a fund in the drain fund list, with a second and a unanimous vote.
What the board decided was administrative: the awards were motions recorded on the meeting record and the payments were accepted for work already completed. The board did not adopt new policy changes at this meeting beyond the project-by-project decisions and instructions to staff about publication and timing for forthcoming solicitations.
