On March 15, the Ravalli County Commissioners awarded contracts to Gardner Excavation and Missoula Concrete for installation of a vault toilet in Summerdale Park. The excavation contract was for $3,000 and went to Gardner Excavation. The contract for the toilet and its installation was awarded to Missoula Concrete for $16,830. But that was changed two days later after it was recognized that the award was based on an outdated bid. The bid, which was submitted on November 5, 2021 was only good for 30 days.
On March 17, the Commissioners reconvened and accepted a new bid from the company. The price had jumped to $18,210 in four months. A spokesman for the company said that it was well over the 30 day limit on the last bid and since then COVID had impacted the business. He said an 8% increase was reasonable considering what’s going on in the construction business these days. He said the new bid was good until April 18, 2022.
The commissioners did not wait. The new bid was approved unanimously.
In other business the Commissioners appointed Debbie Rogers to fulfill the remaining term of Schreiber on the Painted Rocks Rural Fire District board. The term expires in May 2022. The commissioners appointed Steve Russel to the Fair Board.
HELEN SABIN says
This is a waste of money! Summerdale park is used on weekends IN THE SUMMER and hardly at all during the week. Sometimes it is used in spring, fall and winter. If bikers/hikers need a toilet to use, they can carry a portable pee bag with them and empty it when they get home. Today I drove by the Summerdale park and once again it is closed off which is the standard for this little park.
We need our roads paved, not toilets. $20K will go a long way to helping pave a road. I suggest you start on SUMMERDALE and go from there. Further, who is going to clean the toilets? will there be toilet paper and hand sanitizer? will it become a filthy spot that no one would use and thus the money is wasted? What is the cost of the labor to maintain this toilet? COME ON commissioner – take back the contract. USE MONEY WISELY! PAVE OUR ROADS!