BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stoddard County Commission tabled action on awarding a contract for renovations to the County Jail after receiving only one bid on the project. The bid came from Langford Mechanical and Sheet Metal, Inc. and was for $79,350.
Both Commissioners Carol Jarrell and Danny Talkington appeared visibly stunned when the bid was opened. A preliminary estimate by a contractor had been for $21,600, but that contractor chose not to bid when the commission opted to put the project out for bids. Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis was not present.
Sheriff Carl Hefner said the two cost estimates were not for the same work and did not include the same materials. He said the specifications in the bid package included industrial-rated materials as well as the addition of two handicapped accessible showers.
Talkington asked if any other companies had performed a "walk through" and then chose not to submit a bid. Hefner said Keifner Brothers had looked at it, but did not bid. He said he contacted some other contractors, but they also declined to bid.
"This is way out of the range of what we were talking about," said Talkington.
Jarrell agreed that the amount was much greater than expected.
Hefner said Building Superintendent William Dowdy talked with the contractors, and would know more about why the cost had significantly increased.
The bid specifications included the removal of all existing plumbing fixtures and the reinstallation of three new penal rated showers in Blocks C and D, and two new penal rated showers in the A/B Block. It also included removal of a concrete slab in Block A/B and putting in new concrete. It included installation of a new drain and new shower valves, as well as repainting all three shower rooms with epoxy paint. New lighting in each shower room was also included -- in addition to new exhaust grilles in each shower room.
Talkington stated, "I move we table this until we look at what our options are,"
Jarrell concurred.
Drains at Justice Center
Architect Dale Rogers reported to the commission that the contractor, Keifner Brothers, had completed digging the trenches on the outer walls of the Justice Center, and found the drains to be filled with mud and silt. He said that two cracks had also been found that "align with the weepage" inside the building.
"I am glad we did that," said Rogers about the decision to stick with the original plan to locate the leak problems, "The decision made by the commission was correct."
Rogers said the Bloomfield Fire Department had assisted in cleaning out the drains. He said that allowed the drains to be cleaned using higher pressure that would not have been available through conventional means.
Rogers said the contractor was still going to do a camera check of the drains to make sure there were no broken joints in the drain pipes. He said the clean-out valves were never raised above ground, so the drains had not been cleaned since the building was constructed.
Talkington asked if the clean-out valves were going to be elevated for future maintenance. Rogers said they would.
Water Dist. #4 report
Tim Fowler updated the commission on the water project underway in Public Water Supply District #4. He said the people in Misty Acres are now connected to the water district. He said residents on County Roads 717 and 517 also are hooked to the system.
Fowler said there were some residents who did not pay to hook to the system. He said the District Board had voted to allow those residents to pay the reduced fee of $150 to have a meter set while the project is still under construction.
"The contractor has done an excellent job," Fowler told the commission.
Fowler said the new water tower has been erected and is in the process of being painted. He said it should come on line in "a few days." He said replacement of the old water lines was "35 percent complete and that roads were being left better than they were prior to when the project began.
FEMA payment
Castor Township Board Member Steve Larsen said he had been told by an official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that the county would be receiving funds from the agency within two weeks.
A bridge on County Road 410 was washed away by a flood in 2011, and FEMA was to pay 70 percent of the cost of replacing the bridge. The county agreed to pay the required matching portion to use as soft match money for the BRO program. The county actually paid the full $325,000, and is waiting on reimbursement from FEMA.
"Hopefully, the money is coming," said Larsen.