Linn aldermen at a special meeting last Thursday approved a notice of award to MMLC, LLC for the First and Fifth Street improvement project at a total cost of $582,168.96. Bartlett & West had originally estimated the cost of the project at $533,016. MMLC, LLC submitted the lowest of seven bids for the project.

“As Austin (Johnson, Bartlett & West engineer) had mentioned at a recent board meeting, opening bids in the spring, June 1 in our case, will not get the best pricing, so this was not unexpected,” Bartlett & West Engineer Gary Davis explained.

The city had planned on a cash outlay of $55,873 for the original project. Based on the current bid the city will have to come up with $157,876.96.

Bartlett & West provided other options for the city, including splitting the project into two parts and doing First Street in the next fiscal year.

“If it were a normal year, I would not mind splitting it, I really wouldn’t, but just not knowing what’s coming at us with our revenue stream, I would just worry about pushing it back,” Mayor Dwight Massey said.

Bartlett & West also proposed having the city perform part of the required tasks to lessen the cash impact of the additional cost.

“But we are short-handed like crazy as it is,” Alderman Mike Montgomery said, acknowledging that the city is still short one full-time employee.

In the end, aldermen accepted the bid and the project to move forward using money in the current budget.

“We have $40,000 budgeted in professional services and $205,000 in additional money for the street improvement project,” City Treasurer Janelle Jaegers said. “So, there is plenty of money.”

“We would have the funds to do it,” Massey warned, “but it would seriously cut into any additional street work that we would look at doing this year.”

Massey noted that he would like to talk to the contractor about doing some additional work on Second Street and the intersection of Jefferson and First streets. Massey is hoping to get a good deal on these additional projects while the contractor is already in town.

The notice of award is contingent on Community Development Block Grant (CBDG) approval.

Also bidding were B & P Patterson ($584,404.03), Concrete Solutions, LLC ($638,900), S & A Equipment & Builders LLC ($659,351.36), Rhad A. Baker ($680,059.25), Stockman Construction Co. ($696,245.69) and Don Schnieders Excavating Co Inc ($773,443.92).

In other business, aldermen voted to have B & R Automotive in Linn replace the motor in the 2014 Dodge Charger at a cost of $6,064.19.  B & R Automotive was the lowest of three bids that the police department presented to the board. 

The 2014 Dodge Charger has less than 90,000 miles on it and seems to be in good shape, other than the engine.

The money to replace the engine will come out of the $12,000 savings that the police department saved by buying a used car from the Missouri Highway Patrol versus ordering a new Durango as originally planned.

Jim Butler submitted a bid to replace the engine for $6,114 and Osage Automotive submitted a bid of $6,143.  There were also bids for the engine only, without installation from St. James Auto ($4,472) and Jasper Engine and Transmission ($4,678).