Bids come in high

Bids for the Jay County Jail expansion came in a bit backward Monday.

Although the county expected to see hungry contractors trimming prices down to win the project, all bids came in well over the engineer's estimate of $6.8 million.

The lowest base bid, submitted by Weigand Construction, Fort Wayne, was $7,693,000. Weigand recently finished multi-million dollar renovations on Jay County Hospital.

The commissioners tabled the bids until they can be reviewed in detail.

"Well, they're higher than I thought they would be," said commissioner Milo Miller Jr. after the opening.

"I don't see any place we can save $700,000," said Jeff Badders of SchenkelShultz as he reviewed the bid tab.

The 10 bids received were tightly packed together, with the highest bid at $8,289,000. Three bids came in around $8.19 million and three more close to $7.85 million as contractors all hit within a $600,000 window.

The county plans to bond $10.25 million for the total project with the extra accounting for "soft" costs such as change orders during construction and reimbursement for preliminary steps such as building demolition and architecture fees.

Even with deductions from alternates coming into play, Badders didn't think the bid would hit the estimate.

Even cutting some of the more pricy alternates - masonry on the Main Street-facing side ($136,000) and new roof insulation in the existing jail ($109,000) - would still leave a gap to overcome.

After reviewing the bids Badders said he will contact contractors to see if there are places where costs could potentially be driven further down.

"We're just going to have to find where we can save money," he said.

In the months leading up to Monday as the project rolled forward, the general consensus among the commissioners seemed to be that the national recession would work to their advantage as contractors scramble to find work and as material costs dropped from their high points last summer. With the bids in, however, that assumption didn't hold its weight in the equation.

Commissioners Jim Zimmerman and Faron Parr wondered if materials were partly to blame, as prices on steel and aluminum have begun to creep up again.

It's expected to be about 30 days before the county secures funding for the project and can award a contract. The bids can be held for up to 90 days, which will give Badders time to review the submissions and project specs and tries to find a way to make it work in the county's financial scheme.

"Chain link fence and tents are looking better all the time," Miller joked to Sheriff Ray Newton before they left.

In other business Monday afternoon, the commissioners:

•Were informed there will be an open house at the Dunkirk EMS and fire station on June 14 from 1 to 4 p.m.

•Opened bids for a new ambulance. The county received only one bid from Life Star Rescue, Van Wert, Ohio. The base bid for a 2009 Braun Chief XL Prestige Plus on a 2010 Chevrolet G-4500 chassis is $145,693. Life Star also offered three alternates.

The commissioners tabled the bids for review by Jay Emergency Medical Services director Teresa Foster-Geesaman.

•Heard a budget request for 2010 from Vicki Tague, Jay County Chamber of Commerce director. Tague requested $5,000, the same as requested from and given by the county this year.[[In-content Ad]]