Public works items: county to reject landfill flare bids, move ahead on Sediment Road and pay $230,000 change order

Public works staff presented multiple project updates and procurement items to the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners, including a plan to reject irregular bids for a landfill flare, a July bid schedule for the Sediment Road (Burma Road/Teutel Park bypass) project, and a change order to pay extended traffic-control costs after utility delays on the South Cloverdale Road project.

Susan Eugenis, county engineer, told commissioners the county had gone out to bid for an enclosed flare at the Tenant Way closed landfill but received four bids each with material irregularities—mostly requests to change payment terms, including demands for full payment before the flare was operational. She said, "All of them had comments…they all the bids were deemed irregular, and so we're asking to close the circle of the request for bids that, the board moves to reject all bids." Eugenis recommended folding flare procurement into a larger construction contract, allowing contractors to obtain and approve a flare and placing the construction contract on suspension until delivery; staff plans to reissue a construction solicitation in early August with work anticipated in spring 2027.

Eugenis also announced a call for bids on the Sediment Road project with a June 29 bid opening and an engineer's estimate of $1.5 million to construct what is proposed as the Teutel Park Road bypass. She said residents have been notified and preliminary plans and an engineering report supporting the need for the road are in the board packet.

On the South Cloverdale Road/Confer Road intersection project, Eugenis presented change order #6 for $229,750.23 to pay for an extended traffic-control requirement after utilities expanded their work window from 4 weeks to 39 weeks. She said multiple utilities (Comcast, Ziply, the county PUD and others) contributed to delays and that earlier unidentified utilities discovered in the field lengthened the timeline; a commissioner noted the county may have limited recourse to recover these costs from utility franchise agreements.

Other public-works items included a supplemental agreement with WSP USA for design work on South Cloverdale (additional $12,810), a change order for guardrail repairs ($24,235.73), several upcoming public hearings (wastewater Authority discharge/pretreatment policy, Sediment Road establishment, Carrolls Water Association franchise), and a recorded possession/use agreement with Weyerhaeuser for a temporary construction easement related to the Burma Road project.

The transcript records these requests and announcements but does not include a contemporaneous roll-call vote approving or denying these motions; staff asked for board direction and noted several items would appear on upcoming consent agendas or public hearings.