Stewart City Council scraps 2015 street, utility project
The Stewart City Council rejected all bids for a street and utility project at its Monday night meeting.
The City Council had proposed improvements for Croyden Street between Mowbray Street and the cemetery, Mowbray Street between Hall Street and Main Street, East Street from Main Street to Martha Street, and Powers Street from Prior Street to Mowbray Street.
The total estimated cost of the improvements was $674,940. However, engineer Andy Kehren of Bolton & Menk told the City Council, the lowest bid came in at least 10 percent above the estimated cost.
“With oil prices down, we thought they (the bids) would be equitable or less than last year’s project,” said Kehren. However, bituminous costs were more than expected, he added.
The question now, said Mayor Jason Peirce, was whether the city wanted to continue with the proposed project, or go with a larger, extended project and hope to qualify for financing from the Public Facilities Authority (PFA), which in the past has provided the city with grant and low-interest loan funding.
For more, see the July 15 print edition of The Chronicle.