Two bids to add an eighth lane to the Oak Ridge rowing course came in much higher than city officials were prepared to spend, and City Council will consider rejecting the bids during a meeting on Monday, June 13, 2016. Above, officials and referees used Oak Ridge Rowing Association boats to monitor the races on the seven-lane course at the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The city has received two bids on a project to add an eighth rowing lane at the Oak Ridge Marina, and both were significantly higher than what city officials were prepared to spend. So, the Oak Ridge City Council will consider rejecting the two bids during its meeting tonight (Monday, June 13).
The city has received a $250,000 state grant for the proposed eighth lane. The city planned to contribute $150,000, and City Manager Mark Watson had solicited more money from other agencies that would benefit from the rowing course improvements. That meant there was enough money available to fund a project of about $560,000, which is close to a targeted estimate that Watson gave City Council members in March.
But since then, the city has received two bids. The high bid of $2.14 million was from Wright Brothers Construction. The low bid of $1.74 million was from Simpson Construction.
Both bids are “totally out of line with projected estimates,” Watson said in a June 8 memo to City Council. [Read more…]
