WILLMAR -- The Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners awarded bids Tuesday for construction and utility projects on property Kandiyohi County owns on the Willmar Regional Treatment Center campus.
The board accepted the second lowest bid of $1,057,000 from Innovative Builders of Alexandria for a new maintenance building.
The lowest bid of $1,042,000 from Prestige Builders of Maple Grove was rejected because pricing information for one component wasn't provided. Innovative Builders also said the project would be completed in 150 days, compared to 365 days from Prestige Builders.
The engineer's estimate for the project at $1,120,000. Seven of the eight bids were below the estimate.
The state is reimbursing the county $900,000 for the project, with the county picking up the remainder of the tab.
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The arrangement was part of the county's deal to purchase the property from the state.
Also as part of that deal, the county is paying the up-front cost to install new hot water or steam heat systems in several buildings on the campus.
The state, which is leasing several of those buildings from the county for chemical dependency and youth programs, will reimburse the county for the utility work.
The low bid of $1,040,006 was awarded to Plumbing and Heating of Willmar pending written approval from the state.
The work is expected to be completed by Dec. 15. The county has a lease until Jan. 1 for the central power plant from MinnWest Technology, which purchased a majority of the WRTC campus.
The power plant currently provides heat and hot water to the buildings.
Because different entities now own parts of the campus, independent heating systems needed to be installed in the buildings.
The board also set a public hearing on Sept. 5 for an adult entertainment ordinance; approved allocating $12,360 to the Southwest Initiative Foundation; and approved a 1.5 percent increase with West Central Industries for providing services at the recycling center for a rate of $218,225 a year.
