County opens bids for shelter concrete work

The Pettis County Commission opened bids for concrete work on the Smithton storm shelter and approved the purchase of an aluminum box culvert for the Easter Road Bridge replacement project.

On Tuesday, commissioners opened bids from three Sedalia companies seeking to supply the county with concrete footings and walls for the storm shelter in Smithton, which will be the third of eight shelters to be built in Pettis County with funding from state and federal emergency management agencies covering 75 percent of the costs.

American Concrete Foundations submitted the lowest bid for providing the concrete work at $71,318. Morton Custom Contracting proposed $72,997 for the concrete contract, and Septagon Construction bid $103,137 for the work.

Presiding Commissioner Rusty Kahrs said while the county was not working off of price estimates for the concrete footings and walls, the proposals that came in matched what the commission was prepared to spend.

“To be cost effective for us, it had to be in the low $70,000 range,” Kahrs said.

Progress on the Maplewood shelter, the second shelter constructed in the project, has slowed in recent weeks due to wet weather. Special Projects Director John Pollitt said his crews were unable to work on the shelter nine days in the last few weeks because of rain.

The tops of the walls have to be dry before the roof can be set on the shelter, Pollitt said. Once the roof is placed, crews will have to perform electrical and duct work inside the shelter before it is completed.

This week, the commission also approved the purchase of an aluminum box culvert for the Road and Bridge Division. Commissioners accepted a $47,295.94 proposal from Viebrock Sales, of Sedalia.

Western Commissioner Larry Wilson said the culvert will be used in the Easter Road Bridge replacement project.