Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the midway for the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, June 24, 2021.
Bartholomew County officials are finalizing plans for new sanitary sewer service, electrical pedestals and water upgrades at the county fairgrounds.
A bid of $629,180 to carry out the entire project has been awarded to King’s Trucking and Excavating, Inc. by the Bartholomew County Commissioners.
The basic bid submitted by the Seymour contractor was $447,350, but fair board president Rick Trimpe said he believed six optional projects valued at an additional $181,830 are”well-needed” at the facility south of Garden City.
County Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz agreed, adding the only reason the six projects were made optional was to learn if the county could afford the project without their inclusion. The entire project will be financed through federal COVID-19 relief funds provided through the American Rescue Plan.
While the basic bid calls for extensive utility installations on the south side of the fairgrounds, the optional work includes similar improvements on the north side. The additional upgrades also call for a lift station, as well as adding more sewer lines.
Even with the optional projects, King’s Trucking’s bid was still lower than the single offers from two other bidders. Dave O’Mara Contractor, Inc. submitted a bid of $810,507 while Milestone Contractors of Columbus proposed doing all the infrastructure work for a little more than $1.1 million.
Although the utility upgrades are primarily for fair personnel and midway workers, they can also be used year-round to serve as a type of campground for recreational vehicles and campers. A significant fundraiser for the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair board involves renting facilities or property to individuals or organizations.
“We’ve need this for many years,” Kleinhenz said. “I’m glad to finally see it happening.”
While bids were advertised twice in February, county officials were surprised when no contractor submitted a proposal by the March 7 deadline.
In talking with contractors, Strand and Associates engineer Steve Ruble discovered most private companies are still dealing with labor and material issues, he said.
No company was willing to bid on the original contract because it required the completion of a significant part of the project before this year’s county fair gets underway on June 24, Ruble said.
So the commissioners changed the timeline to give all bidding contractors an additional nine months to do the work. King Trucking’s deadline has been moved to March 1, 2023, which will provide three months to grow new grass before another fair begins.
“It’s a good winter project because there’s no traffic and no people,” Kleinhenz said.
Strand and Associates, a local engineering and consulting firm, was hired in December to provide general engineering services, as well as work with Trimpe on planned development and technical specifications.
