Wednesday, March 28, 2001
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Wednesday, March 28, 2001 |
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Apparent low bid for jail, courthouse is $31.98 mil. By DAVE
HAMRICK
It looks like Bell Construction will build Fayette's new jail and courthouse for $31.98 million. Architects and engineers opened bids in a formal setting Tuesday afternoon as representatives of five companies looked on. Bell's bid is the apparent winner, with the next closest bid coming from Beers Construction Co. at $32.28 million. Engineering firm Mallett and Associates will verify that the company has met all the requirements of the project before making a recommendation to the County Commission. Since the bidders were pre-qualified, that process shouldn't take long, said Jim Mallett, president of the company. The matter is expected to be on the commission's agenda April 4 at 3:30 p.m. "This was a very good set of bids," said Mallett, noting that the difference between the lowest and highest bid was only about $6 million. The bid includes construction of two new pods for the county jail plus the new courthouse, but does not include renovations to the old jail and courthouse. The old courthouse will be renovated for sheriff's offices once the new one is open and staffs have moved in. Once the construction firm is formally chosen, county officials hope to see work begin in short order. Planning for the project, which will be financed using a $55 million bond issue approved by voters last fall, has been underway for more than two years.
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