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Reedfield board awards five‑year winter road maintenance contract to Gardner Excavation
Summary
The Reedfield select board unanimously approved a five‑year winter road maintenance contract recommended for Gardner Excavation after staff and the transport committee reported near‑identical technical scores but a substantial cost advantage to the lower bid; the contract starts with five years and may be extended up to three additional years.
The Reedfield select board unanimously approved a five‑year contract for winter road maintenance, awarding the work to Gardner Excavation after staff reported that two bidders produced nearly identical scores but materially different prices.
Eric, presenting the transportation committee’s summary, said four proposers attended the pre‑bid meeting and that proposal base prices ranged “from 395,000 up to 487,250,” with two firms — Horn and Gardner Excavation — emerging as the viable contenders. He said the committee adjusted the RFP scoring to give slightly more weight to experience and less to price, which produced nearly identical scores for the two bidders but left a “substantially different” cost gap.
Logan Gardner, who introduced himself to the board, described his experience in excavation and snow‑plowing and acknowledged he would need to add equipment and staff to meet municipal demands. “I’ve been in the excavation and snow‑plowing industry for about 10 to 12 years now,” Gardner said. “We’ve got to definitely beef up some equipment, hire a couple more guys. I’ve got a lot of people that are backing me, so I think we will be able to service the town and the members proudly.”
Board members pressed staff about service standards and contract indexing. Eric said the contract tie to annual adjustments uses a transportation‑specific CPI that incorporates fuel and equipment indices and noted the board retains the option to negotiate if extraordinary events (for example, COVID‑era fuel shocks) occur.
Dave moved to approve the contract award to Gardner Excavation; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously. Board members said the initial term is five years, with a potential to add up to three one‑year extensions for a maximum eight‑year possible duration under the contract terms.
Board members also discussed operational expectations, such as salt/sand mix and efforts to avoid overuse of materials while maintaining safe roads. Eric said staff will finalize contract terms and follow up with the successful proposer on details such as equipment readiness and service levels.
The board took no separate vote on specific annual price figures beyond approving the contract award and direction to finalize contract language.
