Price council probes public works building costs as staff prepares targeted RFP

Price — Council members at the Price City Council workshop on an unspecified date pressed staff for clearer cost estimates for a new public works building after an incorrectly worded bid advertisement and rising construction prices.

A city staff member said the advertisement sent to council last week mistakenly described interior framing work that the city intends to complete in-house. "All we're doing is putting bidding the electrical plumbing next week and seeing how that comes in," the staff member said, noting the city plans schedule-based line items that can be awarded partially if bids exceed budget constraints.

Council members expressed concern about staying within the project's budget cap, which staff described as the amount the council has discussed previously. The staff member said electrical and heating are the most critical contract elements to allow the shop to operate year-round; plumbing could be deferred if necessary. Staff also outlined internal work the city will perform, including interior framing, paving and detention-pond work, and noted roughly $75,000 in donated earth-moving work to date.

City leaders described a two-step approach: issue an engineering RFP for schedule-based bids, then evaluate incoming prices and award specific line items as funding allows. No formal motion or vote occurred; staff said they will bring final bid packages back to council for review and potential approval.

The workshop discussion closed with the council asking staff to provide detailed cost breakdowns and to flag which work the city can complete internally.