St. Joseph County opens bids and awards multiple small excavation contracts
Summary
At an unnamed St. Joseph County meeting, board members opened bids and approved awards for several local excavation and drainage projects (Cane Ditch/Cambridge, Car Phone Ditch, Potato Creek, Dangerous Gate basin); awards were made by motion and vote and the board set follow-up and procurement dates, including a Nov. 11 proposals opening.
Chair (unnamed) convened the meeting and the board opened multiple bids for local drainage and excavation work, then moved to award several contracts. Early in the session a member read four bids for the Cane Ditch project; a motion was made to award the related 'Cambridge project' for $23,444 and the chair recorded the vote as 'Aye' and 'Motion carried.'
Why it matters: These small excavation and drainage contracts fund routine infrastructure work that affects local drainage, culverts and farm/railroad crossings. The awards authorize contractors to proceed and set expectations for follow-up inspections and scheduling.
Details on awards and bids: The board read and discussed bids for four distinct projects. For the 'Car Phone Ditch' the board recorded several bids and ultimately awarded the work to Alsop Excavating with a figure noted in the record as $6,270; the motion passed by voice vote. For 'Potato Creek' the board opened bids (recorded amounts included $15,200; $10,950; $23,739; $74,250) and moved to award to Alsop Excavating for $10,950; that motion carried. For a project listed as the 'Dangerous Gate basin' the board opened bids (examples in the record: $32,000; $4,700; $23,200) and recorded a motion to award the low bid (Nature's Gate/HealthSouth estimate) at $4,700; the motion carried.
Process and next steps: The board also requested new proposals for several bridge/woodwork jobs affecting locations listed in the record (Lincoln Highway Homesites, Mud River, Grapevine, Black, Riley North) and agreed to open those proposals on Nov. 11. A motion to table dewatering (deepwatering) permit decisions until the Nov. 11 meeting was also adopted.
Attributions and records: Direct quotes in the meeting record include: Speaker 4: "I'll make a motion that we award the Cambridge project today." Chair (unnamed): "All in favor? Aye. Motion carried." The transcript lists bidders by company names such as Weaver Excavate, Alsop Excavating, Pepperton LLC, Beaver Excavate and Pemberton Landscaping LLC. Several dollar figures in the audio record are garbled or repeated; where figures are unclear the official bid tabulation in the county procurement file should be consulted.
What the board will do next: The board directed staff to proceed with contract paperwork for awarded projects, to open new proposals on Nov. 11 and to report back on permitting and inspection matters tied to those projects. The meeting proceeded to a separate discussion on dewatering/discharge activity that was taken up as an operational/inspection item.
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