Indigo Road bid less than engineer's estimate
Staff reporter
A low bid for the Indigo Road project was $100,000 less than predicted.
Marion County Commission approved the low bid Monday presented by Mike Olson of Kirkham Michael Consulting Engineers. Olson presented three bids that were received for the 11.3-mile project.
Venture Corporation was awarded the project for a bid of $486,440. APAC-Kansas Inc. Shears had a bid of $554,471, and Richie Paving presented a bid of $576,101.
Olson had estimated the total project costing the county $586,000, at $50,000 per mile.
The project could start as soon as Oct. 15 or as late as Nov. 1, Olson said.
Commissioner Howard Collett asked Jim Herzet, acting road and bridge superintendent, and Olson about the condition of a newly sealed road.
Collett said he had noticed shoulders were deteriorating on the Antelope to Elmdale cutoff road.
"How do we get those shoulders solid enough so this doesn't happen?" asked Collett.
Olson responded the shoulders needed to be constructed the same as the road to allow water to drain properly.
He added striping could be added to the edge of the roadway to discourage traffic from driving on the shoulder.
Commission chairman Leroy Wetta asked if there was enough right-of-way to improve the shoulders. Olson said it needs to be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
The commission asked Herzet and Olson to work out a solution for the shoulders when improving additional county roads.
Herzet requested and received a five-minute executive session with the commission to discuss personnel. The meeting reconvened with no decisions.
Michele Abbott-Becker, director of communications and emergency management, reported a change in funds for completion of phase two of the radio updating project.
Originally, Abbott-Becker had applied for a $120,000 grant from Public Safety Foundation with the county paying approximately $30,000 as a match for updating dispatch equipment for wireless calls.
Only $60,000 of the grant was received, Abbott-Becker said, but she was able to receive additional funding from Homeland Security grant fund to cover the shortage.
The total project with SBC will cost $398,000. Once completed, dispatchers will be able to track wireless phone numbers and location of the calls.
Abbott-Becker said the tracking system was only as good as the phone being used.
"The newer type phones will be able to be tracked," Abbott-Becker said. The equipment will be able to provide the service only to those phones capable of providing it.
Abbott-Becker also reported FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) had been in Marion County this past week and will return this week to meet with city representatives regarding damage incurred by municipalities due to flooding.
She said $75,000 to $100,000 in funds probably will be awarded to Marion County for distribution to the county, cities, and non-profit entities to recover costs.
Individuals do not qualify for assistance, Abbott-Becker said.
The county also qualified for mitigation funds which will be used at Florence. County road and bridge personnel have assisted in clearing debris from a bridge east of Florence due to flooding.
Abbott-Becker will ask FEMA for funds to eliminate the problem.
