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Council approves trail and utility contracts; Songbird Trail bids come in far above estimates
Summary
Council awarded lead service-line replacement contracts and moved to accept a low bid for a Songbird Trail segment; the Songbird bid was significantly higher than the engineer's estimate, prompting debate over funding sources and possible scope reductions.
The Albert Lea City Council on June 22 approved contract awards for two infrastructure projects and accepted a low bid for a portion of the Songbird Trail despite bids that exceeded engineering estimates.
Engineering staff recommended awarding the 2026 lead service line replacement project (Job 2606) as two sub-group contracts to Platinum Plumbing ($511,465) and BCM Construction ($537,877.60) for a combined total of $1,049,342.60. Staff said the city has secured about $1 million in grant funding for the project and will use change orders to reduce the award to match available funding. Council approved the awards; Councilor Larry Baker announced he would abstain due to a family conflict.
On the Songbird Trail (Job 2411), Freeborn County opened bids for a section proposed from Fountain Street to Highway 13 and from Sunset Street to County Road 74, plus four bridges. The low bid from Uihlein Brothers of Albert Lea was $2,196,920.72, substantially higher than the engineer's estimate of $1,526,876.34. Staff proposed removing a gravel portion of the work to reduce the contract and said they expect to pursue additional grant funding; current estimates in the resolution presented would leave an approximate city share near $685,000 subject to county approval and further grant awards.
Councilors debated whether to proceed after the city lost an anticipated local option sales-tax funding stream. "Since we lost our planned funding with the local option sales tax, I am going to vote no on this project," Councilor Rachel Christensen said. Other councilors emphasized the rarity of the grants already committed and the momentum behind the initiative; staff said Fund 401 has enough for the city portion and noted the city could slow the project and rely more heavily on grant cycles if desired.
Council approved the motion to accept the low bidder and move forward with scope and funding adjustments as needed. Staff said they will coordinate with Freeborn County and pursue additional grants and scope reductions to lower the city's out-of-pocket cost.
Both items are part of a multi-year effort: the lead program is the city's third year of service-line replacements; the Songbird Trail has been in regional planning for more than a decade, staff said.
