A new councilman was seated at the table on Monday night — William Welch was appointed to the Alderman, Ward I seat left vacant by Phillip Fett’s resignation in January. The first order of business was administering the Oath of Office to Welch.
Under visitors to be heard, Chad Reilly asked about the status of the playground equipment near the ball fields that had recently been removed. Mayor Orville Wiebers said that he apologized for the swiftness of the removal but due to insurance reasons the removal was necessary. He said that they are working to get the equipment replaced and funds were in place to do so.
The council approved the consent agenda and claims and moved on to the Main Street Project Bid approval.
With six bids received, city engineer, Mitch Mergen presented his recommendation of Duininck, Inc., of Prinsburg, MN in the amount of $2,714,318. According to research conducted by Stockwell Engineers, which included calling references, Mergen felt the bid from Duininck was the best choice for the city.
He stated that although Haarsma Construction of Sioux Falls SD was $30,000 lower, there were concerns to responsiveness and responsibility. He cited several projects that were not yet complete, and several reports of unsafe utility trenches. In all, four of the ten projects submitted were reported as being completed late. Mergen also stated that the highest contract value Haarsma Construction has had up to this point was $658,000.
In reviewing the second bidder, Duininck, Inc., Mergen reported that two projects of the fifteen reviewed were reported as being late. No issues regarding workmanship were reported by any of the references. Numerous contracts of similar value were reported as complete.
Login to read the rest.