By Don Nelson
A contract to complete a substantial street and water improvement project on upper Bluff Street was approved last week by the Winthrop Town Council.
The lowest qualified bidder on the long-awaited project was Hurst Construction of Wenatchee at $1.02 million. Bids by six other contractors ranged up to $1.22 million. Bids were opened on Jan. 7.
Rick Karro, the town’s public works superintendent, said the 5-year-old original estimate for the project was just under $1 million.
About 80 percent of the project will be for street improvements, with the rest designated for water system improvements, Karro said.
Council member Vern Herrst questioned some line items in the lengthy bid, saying they seemed extravagant.
Karro said that the town is required to accept the entire bid as is, and can’t make changes in individual line items. “We have to take the lowest responsible bidder,” he said, or re-open the bidding process — which would be costly.
In other business, the council chose not to act on a recommendation by Herrst that town vehicles, including those in public works and the marshal’s office, be equipped with GPS monitors that would track the vehicles’ movements and other things such as fuel usage.
Herrst said that his research indicated that the GPS devices could be installed on six vehicles at a cost of about $30 per month for each vehicle. He said that, in the long run, the devices could save the town money by cutting down on unnecessary usage and keeping track of service and maintenance needs.
Council member Rick Northcott agreed that the town’s vehicles need to be on regular maintenance schedules, but questioned the cost of the GPS monitors. Karro said that most of his department’s vehicles are so old that the monitors wouldn’t be of much help. Marshal Rikki Schwab said her department’s two new vehicles are on a regular maintenance schedule.
The council also:
• Turned down a request by the Friends of the Winthrop Library to hold a book sale on the lawn in front on Town Hall during ’49er Days. Town Clerk Michelle Gaines said that the town historically has rejected such requests because allowing one nonprofit to use the Town Hall site would open the door to similar requests. “There are a lot of great nonprofit groups out there,” she said. The council agreed with her recommendation.
• Agreed to pay up to $1,000 for service and maintenance on the backup power generator at the Winthrop Barn. The generator was rarely used before last summer but now needs attention after supplying power during the fire-related electricity outages.
• Appointed council member Jessica Sheehan as the town’s representative to the Okanogan County Transit Authority board of directors.
