At a special city council meeting held on June 7, the bid from Griffin Construction Co. Inc. in the amount of $1,759,308.26 was accepted for the 2023 Street Improvement Project.
Four contractors had submitted bids for the project. The project includes the reconstruction of portions of Grand St. SE, Hawley St. SE, and Prospect St. SE and the rehabilitation of a portion of Grand St. SE.
The Best Value Procurement method was used in the selection of a contractor. The evaluation committee recommended Griffin Construction after evaluating each of the submissions on price, experience and understanding of reconstruction projects.
The recommendation was not acted on at the May 22 meeting when the bids were first discussed, because of the concern at that time was that the debt ceiling in Washington, D.C. had not yet been settled to avoid a default. A potential default could have significantly affected interest rates. The action at this special meeting moves the project forward.
The regular meeting of the city council was held on June 12. The state of Minnesota Joint Powers Agreement with the city of Chatfield on behalf of its city attorney and police department was approved.
The agreement with the state, Department of Public Safety, and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension allows for the use of systems and tools, which are available over the state’s criminal justice data communications network. The agreement allows the city to add, modify, and delete connectivity, systems and tools over the five-year life of the agreement and obligates the city to pay the costs of the network connection.
Other business in brief
• City Administrator Joel Young reported on the state demographer’s report for 2022. As of April 1, 2022, the Fillmore population portion was 1,882 and household portion was 762, the Olmsted population portion was 1,168 and household portion was 467. This brings the total population estimate in 2022 to 3,050 with a household estimate of 1,229.
• A resolution was adopted accepting a $5,000 donation from Chatfield Youth Basketball Association for improvements in Mill Creek Park.
• The resignation of Mike Gittins as an EMT was accepted with regret, effective July 1. He has served with the Chatfield Ambulance service for over six years.
• The next meeting of the city council will be held on June 26.