City of Craig/Courtesy image
At their meeting earlier this month, the Craig City Council discussed approval of construction bids for the upcoming Yampa River Corridor Project.
City of Craig executive assistant Melanie Kilpatrick appeared via Zoom to present the bid recommendations.
The overall project was divided into four schedules.
“We were hoping to get some local contractors and expedite our timeline by doing so,” Kilpatrick shared.
In the end, four different companies submitted bids.
Schedule A of the project focused on instream diversion. The bid recommendation for Schedule A went to Basalt-based Diggin It River Works in the amount of $1,998,700.
Schedules B, C and D focused on upland diversion, non-EDA diversion, and the Loudy-Simpson boat ramp, respectively. The recommendation for all three schedules went to local Craig company Anson Excavating for a total amount of $1,276,805.
Kilpatrick noted that the way Diggin It River Works divided their initial proposal into Schedule A1 and A2 required her to run the proposal through concurrence with the Economic Development Administration, which provided substantial grant funding for the project. In the intervening time, the company was able to restructure their proposal without dividing Schedule A into two parts.
However, at the time of the council meeting, Kilpatrick was still awaiting word from the Economic Development Administration on the updated proposal. She recommended that the board award Diggin It River Works’ bid contingent on that approval, citing her preference for “keep(ing) it contingent until we have that official blessing to proceed.”
Kilpatrick informed the council that the funding partnership with the Economic Development Administration did stipulate acceptance of the lowest bid from any qualified contractor. She noted that while that restriction was in place, the city was able to ensure the qualifications for both contractors receiving bid recommendations.
Mayor Derek Duran made mention of questions he’d previously posed to city manager Peter Brixius regarding bonding, due the the large spread among the received bids.
Diggin It River Works was able to provide an assurity letter to address any potential bonding issues, according to Duran. He expressed confidence that Anson Excavating would be able to provide a similar letter, if necessary.
Kilpatrick shared that “comprehensive project costs for all four schedules (for the project) totaled just over $3.2 million.”
This put the project significantly under budget, with an original budget of “just shy of $5 million,” according to Kilpatrick.
“It’s always good to be under budget,” Mayor Derek Duran observed.
“Especially that much under budget, too,” agreed council member Randy Looper.
Kilpatrick mentioned that the budget surplus also left room for future change orders, which she anticipated.
Regarding the timeline for beginning construction, Kilpatrick shared that both contractors are hoping to start work soon.
“That is our goal for our timeline — to get as much done while we can this winter.”
The council members also seemed anxious to get a jump on the project, with Looper moving to approve the bid recommendations for all four schedules — and with Nichols seconding the motion. All council members voted in favor of approval, and also subsequently approved a resolution authorizing the awarding of the two contracts for the Yampa River Corridor Project.
