Lincoln County approves CTC Disaster Response for debris removal contract

Lincoln County commissioners voted March 4 to move forward with disaster debris removal services and accepted the review committee’s recommendation to hire CTC Disaster Response.

The board rescinded an earlier motion that would have canceled and reissued the RFPs so the committee’s evaluations could continue. County staff briefed commissioners on how national disaster contractors bid generalized line‑items (per‑unit pricing for tons, mobilization, equipment) and said detailed scope and permitting issues would be resolved during contract negotiations and project management if an award is made.

The review committee’s scoring led it to recommend CTC Disaster Response primarily on cost grounds. Commissioners discussed a roughly 10% difference in mobilization cost among bidders and debated whether to insist on local subcontracting to reduce mobilization expense; public comment and RFP language indicated proposers could hire local subcontractors and that local hiring was part of scoring.

The board approved hiring CTC per the committee recommendation; at least one commissioner recorded opposition during the vote. Commissioners directed staff to proceed to contract negotiations where scope, mobilization and right-of-entry details will be finalized.

Why it matters: debris-removal contracting is critical to road and bridge safety following recent flooding. The contract award moves the county toward immediate remediation work while preserving negotiation leverage to tailor mobilization and scale to local needs.