Lincoln County commissioners this week awarded a bid for the renovation of the county jail and discussed the use of remaining ARPA funds.
On a motion by District 3 Commissioner Lee Doolen and seconded by District 1 Commissioner Will Fine the commissioners awarded the bid to Ascend Commercial Builders for $2,440,270.43. That was the low bid submitted of six that were opened last week during a special meeting.
Time frame given for the project by Ascend is 12 months.
The other bids submitted included: A&K Construction, $2,830,000, 450 days. Lambert Construction, $2,856,000, 10 months.
W.L. McNatt and Co., $2,730,000, 448 days.
Jim Cooley Construction, $2,977,600, 365 days.
Hoey Construction, $2,639,000, 360 days. Commissioners recently opted to scrap a jail expansion but go ahead with the renovation and they also agreed to make modifications to the jail renovation project.
Commissioners are up against an approaching deadline of later this month in which any ARPA funds they plan to use must be encumbered by that date and under contract.
ARPA funds were approved in 2021 during COVID-19 and provided through the American Rescue Plan Act to state, local, county, tribal and territorial governments to provide assistance with various projects.
Lincoln County was allocated a total of around $6 million in ARPA funds.
Commissioners also approved a request from Emergency Management, pending approval from Stuart England, for a radio tower and two pickup trucks to be purchased with ARPA funds.
England is an attorney with the law firm commissioners have retained to help oversee the expenditure of ARPA funds.
County Clerk Alicia Wagnon explained the estimated purchase price for what Emergency Management is requesting is around $150,000. She said they have a quote of $39,000 for the radio tower which is a pre-fab building to be placed near the communications tower and a 2025 Ford 350 on state contract at $66,932 and a Ford 150 pickup truck for $48,444 on state contract.
Commissioners, meeting as the Lincoln County Educational Facilities Authority, adopted a resolution authorizing the incurrence of indebtedness for lease revenue bonds for the 2024 Prague Public Schools Project that Prague School District Voters had approved during a school bond election.
In other business, the commissioners: Took no action on Coyote Canyon Plat in District 2. Approved a letter of support for a Rural EMS Training Grant.
Approved a Declaration of Surplus for District 1. Appointed Steve Orr as a Fair Board member for District 1.