Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Sidewalks topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sweetser council approves Milestone Contractors' low bid for sidewalk, obligates town to $90,530
Summary
After receiving engineering and bidding updates, the council approved Milestone Contractors' $416,647.94 low bid for the Sidewalk Project and agreed the town will contribute 20% plus engineering fees for a $90,530 commitment.
The Sweetser Town Council on Dec. 19 approved a low bid to complete the town's multi-year Sidewalk Project, obligating the town to roughly $90,530 to finish construction.
Chad Salzbrenner of Fleis & Vandenbrink told the council that five contractor bids were received and the low bid, from Milestone Contractors, was $416,647.94. Fleis & Vandenbrink's engineers had estimated $262,787.88. Under a revised cost-share arrangement, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) agreed to limit Sweetser's portion to 20% of the low bid ($83,330). Adding $7,200 in construction engineering fees to be paid to Fleis & Vandenbrink brings the town's immediate commitment to $90,530; previously the town estimated an allowance of about $80,000.
Warren Dailey moved to accept Milestone Contractors' bid and obligate the town for $90,530; Tyler Wineinger seconded. The roll-call vote recorded Matt Moore as absent and the four other members voting yes, approving the contract.
Council members were also warned that abandoning the project now would require repaying an earlier INDOT allocation (about $44,480), and that reducing project scope and rebidding would likely delay construction to 2028–2029 with uncertain future costs and INDOT support. The engineer said contractors’ heavier workloads likely helped produce higher bids than the original estimate.
Next steps: the town will execute the contract with Milestone Contractors and move forward with construction engineering work under the agreement with Fleis & Vandenbrink. The council did not detail a construction start date during the meeting.
