After hearing from local residents, Allen County commissioners decided not to allow a late bidder for a project at the Humboldt Senior Center.
The county plans to remodel a building on the property for use by the Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry. Bids were revealed at a Nov. 22 meeting for electrical, HVAC and construction work.
The next week, Joe Weiner told commissioners he was unable to bid on the construction portion because of a miscommunication, and submitted a bid that was about half the cost of the lowest bid.
Commissioners at the time were unsure how to handle the situation and considered accepting Weiner’s bid.
But commissioners decided not to allow Weiner’s bid after Chairman Jerry Daniels said he and county maintenance director Ron Holman received calls from residents about the bidding process. They also weren’t sure Weiner’s proposal for flooring met specifications.
In the end, commissioners accepted a bid for $25,867 from Superior Builders for construction, a bid of $5,436.60 from Kale Electric for electrical work and a bid of $5,443.83 from Dale’s Sheet Metal for HVAC work for a total of $36,747.43.
COLA raises
Commissioners approved a more traditional 3% cost-of-living adjustment for county employees in 2023, a year after giving a 6% boost to wages to offset inflation.
Though inflation remains high, Commissioner Bruce Symes said his research into the matter shows economists expect price hikes to taper off within the next year.
Also regarding end-of-year business, commissioners decided to schedule the final meeting of the year at 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29, instead of the usual meeting date of Thursday. The courthouse will close at noon on the 29th to wrap up annual business.
Road and bridge equipment
Commissioners enthusiastically approved a bid for a refurbished DuraPatcher machine for $45,700.
That’s about half the cost of a new one.
Road and bridge director Mark Griffith has been working with a Texas company that is one of few, if not the only, companies that refurbishes the machines.
It is similar to a patching machine owned by the City of Humboldt.
“I’ve been wanting one of these for a couple of years,” Commissioner Bruce Symes said.
Herder attended Tuesday’s meeting and said the city was very pleased with the equipment. He estimated it saves the city about $30,000 a year on materials and allows crews to continue to make road repairs “until it’s so cold your guys don’t want to work on it.”
The only downside, he said, is storing the oil needed to run the machine. He recommended the county talk to Chanute about a system they have to recycle the oil so it stays fresh. Such systems tend to be expensive, he said, but perhaps that is something Humboldt and the county could consider purchasing as a partnership.
GRIFFITH also advised commissioners he is taking bids to replace the county’s fuel tanks, which are outdated. One tank is in such disrepair, it cannot be completely filled or it leaks.
