Court questions language in bid
The fiscal court spent close to an hour in discussion before accepting a bid for chip and seal Tuesday night.
The court accepted the low bid by Burton Stone for crushed stone, but hesitated before accepting a chip and seal bid from Gaddie Shamrock because of wording in the bid.
Gaddie Shamrock also bid on the crushed stone, which is used in the chip and seal process.
“If they get the chip and seal bid, will they have the option of using their own rock?” asked Joe Rogers, district six magistrate.
“It’s separate,” said county attorney Jennifer Hutchison-Corbin. “It’s always been that way.”
After the bid was opened, there appeared to be contradictions in the bid from Gaddie Shamrock. The second paragraph said the company would furnish everything but crushed stone and oil. Paragraph five said the company’s bid prices would be void if the court didn’t get crushed stone from Gaddie Shamrock.
“I don’t see how they can make us pay for the stone when that is a separate bid,” Hutchison-Corbin said.
Court members worried that working in the fifth paragraph would allow Gaddie Shamrock to change the prices if the stone was supplied by another company.
“They can change the price if we don’t buy stone from them,” said Sammy Baker, district three magistrate.
The court was hesitant to accept the bid because of the fifth paragraph.
“I don’t think we can accept it because they’ve put conditions in it,” Melton said.
“I don’t think they can legally do that,” Hutchison-Corbin said. “They have to bid it the way we present it.”
Melton gave the court two options, to either reject the bid and bid to the public again or to accept the bid with the exception of paragraph five.
The court voted to accept the bid with the exception.
“They may or may not want to continue with the bid,” Melton said.
Before Melton opened the bid for the chip and seal, she asked the court to consider whether or not the county was going to try to do the chip and seal itself by leasing the equipment.
Most of the magistrates believed it would be too much work on the road department right now.
“I don’t know how we could put anything else on the road department,” Rogers said.
“There is still a lot of work to do,” Baker said.
Some were concerned it would be more work because the road department isn’t familiar with the process.
“We’re undertaking something we don’t have any expertise in,” said Baker.
The county has 18 months to make the repairs from the flooding in May.
“Who knows, we might have another storm next week,” Melton said.
The county also received a grant through NRS to repair six waterways to prevent future damage.
The county has 20 days to complete the repairs or they lose the money. Melton said it is possible to get an extension.
The road department is on the third waterway and it is half the way done.
Other bids included Asphalt and Materials winning the bid on oil, Gaddie Shamrock winning the bid on hot mix and Chauffer Termite and Pest Control winning the bid on pest control.
The court also voted to accept the bid for the 2010 salt contract with Kentucky Association of Counties.
By Allison Hollon
allison@accvonline.com
