Graham officials opened the bids for new park design and construction Thursday afternoon, and by Friday afternoon, the price tag had gone up.
UPDATE: The low bidder had at first appeared to be Burlington-based Chadco, with a bid of $743,103, about 50 percent over what the city council was hoping to spend using $483,000 in leftover funds from a 2023 state grant.
Assistant city manager Aaron Holland initially told the newspaper that he was still reviewing the particulars of Chadco’s bid earlier Friday, so that it “may or may not impact their position.” Later Friday afternoon, Holland reported, “It was determined that they are non-responsive and will not be considered.”
That leaves the next lowest bid as one for $1,219,229 from another local bidder, Central Builders of Mebane. A third, for $1.618 million, from Greensboro-based Bar Construction, was also received.
That second bid is 2½ times the amount available through the leftover grant funds. How the council will propose to fund the remaining $736,229 is unknown.
Another company, C.T. Wilson, submitted a bid last week, along with Chadco, but because there were only two bids received (state law requires a minimum of three for an initial bid opening), the bids were not opened, and state law required the city to re-bid the project. C.T. Wilson did not submit a second bid this week.
The council is still planning to meet at 10:00 a.m. Monday morning “to consider awarding a contract for the construction of a new park located on West Elm Street, or to consider authorizing staff to utilize grant funds to purchase park materials and proceed with construction.”
See other park-related stories from this week’s (April 23) edition of The Alamance News:
- Alamance News publisher files appeal over city’s proposed park across from newspaper office; Boney charges city didn’t follow notification requirements of state law; other irregularities also surfaced, including discussions between a supposedly neutral board and city staff: https://alamancenews.com/alamance-news-publisher-files-appeal-over-citys-proposed-park-across-from-newspaper-office/
- HRC member faults HRC chairman for some of confusion at March 24 meeting: https://alamancenews.com/hrc-member-questions-how-march-24-meeting-was-conducted/
- Even finding a time for a special city council meeting proves contentious; should it be morning, for convenience of staff, or evening, for convenience of residents? Council members and mayor disagree. Ultimately special meeting set for 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 27: https://alamancenews.com/graham-to-hold-special-meeting-to-award-contract-for-park-construction/
- The Public Asks: What is former Graham mayor Jennifer Talley’s position on building a new park vs. repairing the existing one?: https://alamancenews.com/what-is-the-former-graham-mayors-position-on-the-new-park-versus-saving-the-existing-one/
