Caribou Council accepts three bids on municipal projects

4 years ago

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CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou City Council on June 1 accepted bids for three municipal projects — repair of the public works building’s roof, pavement work at the municipal airport and parking lot maintenance at the Sweden Street Mall.

Five councilors voted in favor of the three bids, with Councilor Doug Morrell abstaining and Councilor Nicole Cote absent and excused from the meeting.

Roof repair for the public works building will include replacement of the existing roof membrane atop the 15,900-square-foot building. Councilors ultimately approved the low bid of $87,480 from Powers Roofing in Caribou.

Marker said the airport paving is the result of a statewide pavement condition study the Maine Department of Transportation conducted. The study recommended doing a crack seal project this year to address cracking occurring around the hangar, and between the runway and Main Street. Marker clarified that the project would not include the runway or new asphalt that was installed over the last two years.

Councilor Jody Smith asked if the money would be taken out of the airport reserve fund, which Marker confirmed, adding that the fund currently has a balance of more than $78,000.

The council accepted the lone bid that came in for the project in the amount of $6,240 from Pelletier’s Property Services.

Over the next five years, the DOT also recommended a full reconstruction of the airport’s apron area at a cost of $967,124. In the council packet, Marker wrote that based on current repaving bids, the city could provide an equivalent fix for $122,563.

For the Sweden Street Mall parking lot, Marker said the lot has taken a beating over the years with it being used to place excess snow in the winter months, and that the city has a responsibility for its upkeep.

The work would include a 1.5-inch overlay on the 46,835-square-foot-lot. The work would be funded via the city’s parking lot maintenance reserve account, which as of the June 1 meeting had a balance of $109,466.90.

Councilors voted to accept the low bid of $45,000 from Soderberg Construction in Caribou for the Sweden Street Mall project.

The city council also discussed, but did not take action on, bids for parking lot maintenance at the fire station, opting to hold off as some heavy equipment may also be in the area to repair one of the station’s retaining walls.