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Finance committee denies award of 2026 seal‑coat contract after townships decline to sign
Summary
Following objections from multiple townships, the Grundy County Finance Committee voted to deny the lowest-qualified-bidder award for the 2026 seal‑coat contract, citing overbids and concerns townships could not cover the higher costs. The committee will forward a negative recommendation to the full county board.
Bill, the Maine Township road commissioner, told the finance committee he was “disappointed” with this year’s seal‑coat letting, saying town road commissioners were not consulted after the first letting was voided and that a rebid produced substantially higher costs.
Eric, who presented the low-bid summary for county highway staff, said two contractors submitted packets: AC Pavement with a low bid of $793,281.04 and Stefan’s 3 D at $811,165.84. The project estimate was roughly $768,604; the low bid exceeded that estimate and several townships told staff they would not sign the award because of the overrun.
A committee member accused some bidders of having an unfair advantage after bids were unsealed and said one contractor had slashed a bid by more than $300,000 on a market where prices were expected to rise. “I think we failed the people of all the townships,” the member said.
Committee members discussed whether individual townships could proceed if others opted out and warned that a contractor might refuse to honor unit prices if only a subset of the overall contract remained. Given that most townships declined to sign the award as submitted, a motion to deny the award was made, seconded, and carried on a voice vote. The committee recorded that it would forward a negative recommendation on the award to the full county board.
The committee did not adopt any alternative award or re‑bid plan at the meeting; staff said work could be delayed until next year and individual townships could, in theory, let their own portions separately but would likely face higher unit prices if the overall contract were reduced.
