Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Low bid for Smoky Mountain Lane under budget as council weighs chip-and-seal, overlay funding
Summary
Staff reported a low bid of $108,761.25 from RV Wagner for Smoky Mountain Lane, under the $120,000 budget. Committee members also debated funding trade-offs between a $242,000 chip-and-seal contract, a $590,000 mill-and-overlay program, and a $400,000 earmark for Union Street.
City staff told the Operations Committee on June 13 that three bids were received for the Smoky Mountain Lane reconstruction and the low bid, from RV Wagner, totaled $108,761.25 — below the $120,000 budgeted amount — and the administration plans to place the award on the next board meeting agenda for formal approval. "The low bid was RV Wagner for $108,761.25, which came in under the budget of 120,000," staff reported.
The committee also spent much of the meeting on pavement-maintenance planning and funding. Public-works staff said the chip-and-seal project estimate is about $242,000, which includes roughly $90,000 for partial-depth pavement repairs. Separately, a mill-and-overlay program was cited at approximately $590,000. Committee members discussed the need to preserve a $400,000 earmark in the Franklin County Road and Bridge fund for a future Union Street overlay, saying the county fund should not be depleted this fiscal year.
Mayor Filley and staff framed the discussion as a budgeting question: proceed with the chip-and-seal project already out to bid or prioritize the larger mill-and-overlay list. "If we use chip-and-seal money out of the road and bridge fund, then we're… if we still want to do the mill-and-overlay project in this fiscal year, we need to figure out how we're going to come up with that $590,000," a committee member said. Staff recommended keeping approximately $300,000–$400,000 in the county fund to reserve capacity for Union Street in the FY26 budget.
No final funding decision was made; members asked staff to present refined budget options and said the chip-and-seal bid opening (scheduled for June 25) and the results of the upcoming budget workshop will shape the board’s decision. If the board approves the low bid for Smoky Mountain Lane at the next meeting, staff said construction would proceed according to schedule.
The committee was also briefed on the Lisa Lane/FLIR project, with staff reporting a tentative mid-August timetable for contractor scheduling, and reminded members that grant opportunities and alternative funding will be explored for other phases of local road work.
