Council approves $686,000 paving contract and IGA to design Walden Grove traffic signal; construction funding to follow

The Town of Sahuarita council approved two infrastructure items after staff briefings from Public Works. The council awarded contract number 250011 to Southern Arizona Paving & Construction Company, Inc. for Nogales Highway and Obrego intersection improvements — work includes a new right‑turn lane, median modifications to allow left turns into a nearby shopping center, updated signal timing and lighting. Public Works reported the low bid was approximately $686,000, about $86,000 over the budgeted engineer's estimate; the council approved a transfer of $93,400 from unassigned general fund balance to the applicable capital project.

Public Works operations manager Paul Burton briefed the council on a separate safety project: the intersection at Walden Grove High School, Delgado Road and Sahuarita Road now meets federal warrants for a traffic signal and much of the conduit and power infrastructure is already present. "We looked at the intersection and we discovered that, yes, in fact, the traffic signal is warranted here," Burton said. The Sahuarita Unified School District agreed to pay 50% of the project cost for design through an intergovernmental agreement the council approved as Resolution 20240805. Staff said design is complete; construction funding is expected to be addressed in the next CIP or by use of fund balance or external funding partners.

During discussion council members asked about bid spreads, contingency amounts and whether the low bidder could deliver at the proposed price; Public Works said the low bidder owns materials and equipment that can lower costs. The council approved both the contract award and the IGA by voice votes. No roll‑call tallies were recorded in the transcript; minutes should be checked for the official vote record.