Boyceville accepts low bid of $165,000 for Safe Routes to School

By LeAnn R. Ralph

BOYCEVILLE  —  The Boyceville Village Board accepted a low bid of $165,000 from Haas Sons for the Safe Routes to School project at Monday night’s meeting (February 12).

The bids were opened last Tuesday, said Darlene Lee, village clerk.

Three bids were received from Haas Sons, Chippewa Concrete and Pember Companies, said Erik Evenson of MSA Professional Services.

The low bid was from Haas Sons at $165,150, he said.

The lowest bid received last year was $240,000, Evenson said.

A few items were taken out of the request for bids amounting to about $40,000 all together, he said.

“I don’t think we’d get any better prices than this,” Evenson said.

Now is a good time of the year to request bids because the contractors are looking for work, he said.

Boyceville has not yet received approval from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to award the project, Evenson noted.

The village board could accept the bid contingent upon DOT approval and contingent upon the contractor fulfilling the requirements, he said.

Evenson said he expected a grant would pay for 100 percent of the project, especially with a good bid.

The Safe Routes to School project would be done on a reimbursement basis with the village paying the contractor and then submitting a request to the DOT for payment, he said.

Haas Sons is a good company to work for, and S.D. Ellenbecker Inc. out of Wausau is a subcontractor for Haas Sons, Evenson said.

The Boyceville Village Board unanimously approved a motion to move forward with the bid from Haas Sons for the Safe Routes to School project contingent upon approval from the DOT.

Village trustees Brad Stevens and Jonathan Ferrell were absent from the meeting.

Water meters

The Boyceville Village Board also approved paying for the installation of new water meters out of existing water funds.

The total cost of the project will be around $130,000, said Don Rose, director of public works.

The committee recommended using funds on hand for the water meters, he said.

The water utility will have other expenses this year, “but it’s okay for now,” Rose said.

The village board will have to review a water rate increase at some point, he said.

The Boyceville Village Board unanimously approved using existing water funds to pay for the water meters.

Other business

In other business, the Boyceville Village Board:

• Learned Rose has been checking the water temperature frequently. Eight homes are currently running water to keep the water mains from freezing, and the hydrant on Second Street, which is a dead end, has been running, too, he said. The water temperature was at 36.4 degrees Fahrenheit the day of the meeting, and with warmer temperatures expected over the coming week, Rose said the water temperature would improve.

• Learned that the Boyceville Police Department had 85 calls for service in January. One call involved a report of loose goats. The goats are free-range and were contained within their own property and were not actually loose, said Boyceville Police Chief Greg Lamkin. The 85 calls for service in January this year compare to 39 calls in January of 2016 and 58 calls in January of 2017.

• Learned that Cedar Falls Builders will be installing new doors on the community center soon.

• Accepted the low bid from Haas Sons for the Granbakken Way sidewalk in the amount of $33,526 plus $1,075 for sidewalk protectant.

• Tabled the agenda item pertaining to providing water and sewer utilities to lots 48 and 49 on Granbakken Way until the March 12 meeting.

• Agreed to implement a “tiered system” for parking tickets of $10 for a first offense, $25 for a second offense and $50 for a third offense. Several instances have occurred of people getting six or seven parking tickets for the same violation, Police Chief Lamkin said. “Usually it’s ‘one and done’ but there is a handful of repeat customers,” he said. “Some people are not getting the message,” said Gilbert Krueger, village president.

The Boyceville Village Board went into closed session to discuss the lot purchase price for the new fire station. When the village board returned to open session, a motion was approved to offer to sell the village-owned lot by the airport to the fire district. A sale price was not included in the motion.