The Mendenhall Mayor and Board of Aldermen met Monday, June 22, to open bids for the paving project on Circle Drive.
Board members agreed that the condition of the roads in front of Mendenhall High School and Mendenhall Elementary was terrible and decided that the majority of this year’s paving budget would be dedicated to repairing Circle Drive.
Two bids were received for the project. J & L Enterprises was in compliance with all specifications and bid the project at $139,986.86.
W. E. Blaine and Sons was also in compliance with the specifications and bid the project at $162,000.
Alderman Donnie Thomas expressed concerns over the specifications. J & L Enterprises has done the majority of the paving projects for the city in recent years. Thomas said the city should receive depth and milling from curb to curb to ensure the road is repaired correctly. Mayor Todd Booth said curb to curb milling was not listed in the specs and stated that excessive milling would damage the structure of Circle Drive and double the price.
Thomas said, “If that’s the case, we’re doing it wrong then. The entire street needs to be milled all the way to Highway 149.” Thomas said the street would be damaged again in a short number of year and called the project “another patch deal.” The board agreed to accept J & L Enterprises as the lowest bid and awarded them the project by a majority vote.
Thomas was opposed to moving forward with the project, which is expected to be completed by August.
Following the completion of Circle Drive, the remaining paving funds will be used to address areas around the city where streets were dug up to repair substructure and install culverts.
Booth questioned the bidding process and asked the Board AttorneyWesley Broadhead if it was legal to bid the asphalt tonnage separately from the labor. Booth explained that going through the specs bidding process is costing the city a minimum of $25,000 more for each project using specs. Instead, he suggested not using specs on each paving project around the city and to allow contractors to lay asphalt as needed.
Booth said, “This would help us stretch our asphalt and we can get more bang for the city’s buck.”
Booth asked Broadhead for clarification, and stated other counties are doing their paving in a similar way. Broadhead advised against doing things this way, and said it resembles split-bidding. However he said he would research the process further.
