County OKs road grader bid, opens dust control bid
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.
by Patty Cheffey
Upon review of the bids, Marion County approved the higher of two bids submitted for five new road graders for the county’s Highway Department.
Mike Schaefer, county highway supervisor, made the recommendation to go with Martin Equipment’s John Deere road graders, noting they had followed the bid specs and Altorfer had not.
The recommendation was made during Monday’s county commission meeting, at which the commissioners also opened a bid for dust control, heard updates on the County Road 402 bridge and on the soft match trade.
Although Schaefer said he felt he had written the specs equally for both companies, Brett Peters with Altorfer said there were three line items that were John Deere only specs and that Caterpillar had never offered them.
Eastern District Commissioner Larry Welch noted he felt the specs should have been followed and, if they could not be, Peters should have asked for more information.
Peters claimed he did ask, but did not get them until it was too late.
Martin’s bid was for five new road graders and with a trade-in will cost $930,000 and will take six to eight weeks for delivery.
For the time being, the commissioners did not approve John Deere’s financing, noting they felt they could get a better interest rate elsewhere. Schaefer will look into placing an ad for financing.
In other business, the commissioners approved the lone bid from Scotwood Industry for a calcium chloride dust control at a cost of 97 1/2 cent per gallon delivered and applied.
If the weather cooperates, application will start in May. Those interested in having the product applied should contact the Marion County Highway Department for costs and details.
In her report, Teya Stice, county improvement coordinator, said MoDOT said the county can go in the hole for a year on the County Road 402 bridge project, if they approve the trade soft match for hard match (BRO) funds with Monroe County.
Monroe County offered to sell Marion County $75,000 in BRO funds for $90,000 in soft match funds. Stice said she would get the paperwork started on that.
She also informed the commissioners about a $3,098.32 reimbursement request for engineering for the CR 402 bridge.
In other bridge information, Stice said Aaron Hugenberg with MoDOT has finished his inspection of the county’s bridges and will report to the commissioners on that at the May 10 meeting.
The county knows of one bridge on CR 281 which will have the weight limit lowered, but that will not happen until after the May 10 meeting.
Welch reported he had visited with the county’s attorney concerning the burial of the indigent person, which was discussed at last week’s meeting and was informed it was not only the right thing for the county to pay for the burial, it was the law.
Welch noted he had turned in a bill for a little less than $1,000 to be paid directly to a Bowling Green funeral home for a cremation.
The county also learned of a Zoom meeting for the American Rescue Plan with the Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Related Posts
