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Madison County Commission authorizes ARPA-funded transportation and water contracts totaling millions
Summary
Commissioners voted to authorize a large package of ARPA-funded contracts for transportation and water infrastructure, including construction, inspection and program-management agreements; a staffer noted a roughly $1,000,000 contingency that represents about 3% of those project expenditures.
Madison County commissioners on the floor of the commission chambers authorized a broad set of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)–funded projects and related professional-services agreements aimed at improving local roads and replacing aging water mains.
County staff told commissioners the contracts must be committed before Dec. 31, 2024 to satisfy Treasury requirements and described an approximately $1,000,000 contingency that “really represents about 3% of the overall expenditure of ARPA funds for surface transportation and water projects,” a county official said during the presentation. The commission approved a series of individual contracts, including a $1,053,267.28 bid with Wiregrass Construction for intersection work at Pettus Road and Nick Davis Road and a $926,534.81 contract with Grayson Carter and Son for a single-lane roundabout at Old Railroad Bed and McKee Road.
Other approvals covered professional services and inspection agreements: Volker Inc. was approved for program-level coordination on ARPA surface-transportation and water projects with a not-to-exceed value of $390,000, CDG was approved for construction engineering inspection with a not-to-exceed value of $560,000, and Morrell Engineering was authorized for program management with a not-to-exceed fee of $650,000. The commission also adopted multiple water-main construction contracts (examples: Christopher Contractors, Hereford Construction and McCord Construction) and a Premier Power agreement for advanced metering infrastructure ($93,572.84).
One commissioner raised concern about rising mobilization charges in construction contracts, saying, “That number we need to watch and pay attention. In one of these contracts, the mobilization’s over $100,000… it’s getting to be where they’re charging 10% plus and that’s just… putting the number in there and throwing it in there as extra profit.” County staff responded that mobilization costs include insurance and overhead and that competitive bidding should limit excesses.
All ARPA-related motions were approved by voice vote or unanimous consent where recorded. Staff noted that some contingency amounts could return as change orders as projects proceed. The commission’s final action on the slate of ARPA projects authorizes county-administrator signatures on the contracts so work can be initiated before the statutory deadline.
