Knott County conditionally awards Malley Road NRCS bid to Hinkle Environmental amid budget questions

Knott County officials voted June 7 to award the low bid for the Malley Road Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) project to Hinkle Environmental Services, contingent on confirmation from the NRCS project overseer that recent changes to scope and quantities are approved.

Judge Dobson opened discussion saying two bids were received and that "both of those are way over budget," according to the meeting record. He said Hinkle (listed in the record as the low bidder) and BlueRock were the bidders and that Hinkle’s submission appeared to include additional items or altered quantities compared with the NRCS design. The presiding official said the county must confirm whether NRCS engineer Dale Vaughn approved any post–pre-bid changes before proceeding.

Officials cited specific line items and quantities in the discussion: roughly 226 tons of riprap, channel lining, steel guardrail components, and more than 700 linear feet of rail piling on the bids as described in the record. The presiding official said he would contact NRCS and confirmed he left a callback request saying, "Hey, Dale. It's Judge Dobson, Knott County. Give me a callback at your convenience." The record also includes an automated outgoing message identified as Dale Vaughn of the NRCS.

A motion to award the project to the low bidder, Hinkle Environmental Services, "with approval from Dale Vaughn that there's been some changes on the engineer side before proceeding to work," was made and seconded and passed on a voice vote. The motion in the record was made by Paul Craft and seconded; the roll call earlier in the meeting listed members present as Tim Bates; Ricky Thomas; Carl Craft; Kevin Wallace; Jeff Dodson; Brent Smith; and Kevin Jacobs. The meeting record shows unanimous "Aye" votes for the motion.

County officials said NRCS reimbursement rates influence the county's budgeting for the project and that staff would obtain the updated NRCS budget and any approved change orders before awarding the contract. The record includes inconsistent spellings and itemizations across submitted bid sheets and in the meeting transcription; county staff indicated they would confirm final quantities and approvals with NRCS before issuing a formal award.

The commission moved immediately to other business after the vote; staff were tasked with filing bid documents with the resolution and confirming engineer approval before the contract proceeds.