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Lincoln County to have engineers vet competing bids for college roof and fairgrounds sewer after contractor concerns
Summary
The county opened bids for a college roof replacement (three bidders with widely varying approaches and prices) and for a fairgrounds sewer project (three bids). Contractors disagreed about whether a full tear-off is necessary and reported saturated insulation on core samples; the board asked engineering staff to review bids and inspect the roof before awarding.
Lincoln County staff opened competing bids on Aug. 13 for two capital projects — a roof replacement at Flathead Valley Community College and a sewer upgrade at the county fairgrounds — and will have county engineers review the proposals and perform site inspections before making award decisions.
For the college roof, three bids were presented at the board meeting. Brick Systems submitted a bid package with a combined total listed in the public readout as $596,800 and an optional second layer of ISO insulation for roughly an additional $80,000 to meet an R‑30 target. Artisan Commercial Roofing submitted a bid of $647,770 that explicitly includes contingencies for rotted wood replacement and the code-required R‑30 insulation; that company noted manufacturer and warranty specifications. Advanced Roofing submitted a substantially lower bid of $189,647 and said its approach would strip the existing membrane, inspect and replace wet insulation as needed, and install a new single‑ply membrane (an overlay rather than a full tear‑off) while still providing a 20‑year NDL warranty.
Contractors and county staff discussed core-sample results and differing assessments of roof condition. At the hearing one contractor said multiple core samples showed saturated insulation and that a layer of modified bitumen roofing exists under the ISO insulation; another warned the plywood decking should be inspected for rot and mold. Advanced Roofing's owner said their bid includes per‑unit pricing for any insulation replaced and estimated full insulation replacement at no more than about $150,000 if needed; Artisan's representative said widespread deck replacement was possible and included allowances for that contingency in its bid.
County staff said they will forward all bid packages to the county engineer (Andy) and may arrange for maintenance staff to meet an engineer on-site to inspect the roof before a contract is awarded. The board took no award action at the meeting.
On the fairgrounds sewer project the board recorded three bids in the meeting: Amus Creek Contracting ($545,999), Noble Excavating ($518,500) and a third bid from TCI listed in the transcript as "$615,27" (the third figure in the record is not fully legible). Staff again asked the engineer to review the sewer bids for compliance with project specifications and timelines (the bids list substantial-completion dates on or before Dec. 15). The board will consider the engineer's recommendations in a future action.
No awards were made; the board directed staff to obtain an engineer's assessment of whether each bid meets specifications and to report back to commissioners.
