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Board approves $516,674 contract for Paulson tennis-court reconstruction
Summary
The Austin Public School District accepted ISG's recommendation and awarded the Paulson (Westcott) tennis-court reconstruction contract to Rochester Sand and Gravel for $516,674.08 after reviewing three sealed bids and engineers' estimates; board members discussed sealed-bid statute and construction-base findings from borings.
The Austin Public School District board voted to award the Paulson (Westcott) tennis-court reconstruction contract to Rochester Sand and Gravel for $516,674.08, following a sealed-bid process run by ISG. The district received three bids, with amounts reported in the packet ranging from $516,674 to $937,000; an earlier engineers' estimate discussed at the February board meeting was roughly $800,000.
Tom Lettingburg, the district’s executive director of finance and operations, told the board that boring samples showed the subsurface under the courts was in better condition than earlier estimates suggested, which reduced the need for backfill and helped explain why the low bid came in below some estimates. Lettingburg said ISG recommended accepting the base bid plus all three alternatives from Rochester Sand and Gravel.
A board member asked whether statute requires accepting the lowest sealed bid when projects meet the sealed-bid threshold; Lettingburg confirmed that sealed bids above the statutory dollar threshold must be awarded to the lowest responsive bidder, and that this project did not meet the criteria for a "best value" procurement. Another board member raised local-preference concerns and noted that some area aggregate contractors (Houghton Brothers/Yule Brothers were referenced in discussion) have long histories in the region; the board's discussion did not change the award recommendation.
The motion to approve the bid was made by Peggy and seconded by Carol; the board approved the award by voice vote. The award accepts the base bid and all listed alternatives; work will proceed under the contract with Rochester Sand and Gravel as the apparent low, responsive bidder.
The board packet and presentation referenced the ISG feasibility work, the online sealed-bid opening conducted March 4, and the bid tabulation that produced the low bid figure. The district did not provide a detailed project schedule or completion date in the meeting presentation.
