Committee recommends awarding $249,942 road surface treatments contract to Farner Asphalt Sealers

The Middleton Public Works committee recommended that the finance committee and common council award the city's annual road surface treatments contract (Bid 25-103) to Farner Asphalt Sealers after staff said the low bid came in at about $249,000.

Engineering technician Sean Overrude told the committee the bid covers the program of crack filling, chip sealing and GSB 88 for newer roads and said the work is part of routine maintenance to extend pavement life. "If you do this type of maintenance, it's a small investment, and we would realistically be pushing 30 years on those," Overrude said, describing how crack filling and chip sealing preserve fine aggregate and slow deterioration.

Overrude explained staff plans to use any remaining contract balance for additional crack filling and to allocate roughly $20,000–$25,000 for spot repairs and wedging before chip sealing. When asked whether the project could run over budget, Overrude said the city now bids by road section and does not expect cost overruns on the awarded units; an unexplained "extension" column in the online bid table was identified as an irrelevant field from the bidding platform.

Committee members asked about contractor experience and neighborhood communication. Staff said Farner Asphalt Sealers has worked with the city and nearby communities for decades and that Farner has a new regional manager, Joe Bass, who staff expect will maintain prior levels of responsiveness and traffic management.

A member moved that the committee recommend awarding the contract in the amount of $249,942; the motion was seconded and the committee voted to carry the recommendation. The city attorney will review the contract when it is prepared for signature, and staff said it will follow the city's standard contract template.

The committee's recommendation goes next to the finance committee and common council for final award and execution.