RIDGEWAY – During its regular monthly meeting last Thursday evening, the Ridgeway Town Council voted unanimously to approve a bid (with contingencies) for the Thomas Store Museum renovation project.
Ridgeway citizen Charlene Herring presented the bid tabulation provided by the Town’s Interim Administrator Clay Killian.
The sealed bid opening on Feb. 2, produced two bids – one for $108,639.82 by Southern Reflection Building and Remodeling LLC, and another for $85,736.58 by Madco Contracting and Construction Services.
In a letter to council, Killian, who was not present at the meeting, said both bids exceeded the amount of funds available for the project.
“Even though the bids exceed the budget, I believe there is a path forward for the project,” Killian wrote.
He stated that the low bid of $85,736.58 was the most complete and responsive bid of the two.
“However, after review, it appears that some items requested in the bid may have been eliminated based on a conversation [Ms. Herring] had with the contractor at the site visit held on Jan. 31, 2024,” Killian wrote. “Specifically, replacement windows have been excluded and, if it is acceptable to council, then this bid should be considered compliant with the bid solicitation document.
“Given that this bid exceeds the available funding by slightly more than $18,000, it is recommended that town council award the contract to Madco Contracting and Consulting Services contingent upon completion of negotiations to reach a suitable, value engineered price within the budget,” Killian wrote.
He told council that if the contract could not be satisfactorily completed through negotiations, that the bids will necessarily have to be rejected, the bid re-scoped, and a new solicitation be undertaken.
Highest Bid Won for Past Foundation Work
In a bid for foundation work on the same building last October, the Ridgeway council approved the highest of three bids for repairs to the building’s foundation. Even though that bidding process suffered a number of irregularities, council upheld it.
The contract was awarded to Southern Reflections Build ing and Remodeling with a bid of $38,655.53, which was five times greater than the other two bids submitted by foundation specialists – Mount Valley Foundation bid of $6,895.51 and RamJack bid of $7,530.
Former Ridgeway Mayor Charlene Herring, who handled the bid process for that project as well, presented the bids at council and recommended that they approve the highest bid.
“Southern Reflections is the best way to go” based on their experience in dealing with historical buildings and the attention they paid to details of all the ramifications during their on-site inspection, Herring told council.
Without any discussion about the three bids, council voted 5-0 to accept Southern Reflection’s bid.
“The bid requests were delivered verbally to each bidder as they were each given separate walk-throughs of the building,” former Mayor Heath Cookendorfer told The Voice after the meeting.
In addition, Cookendorfer said there was no formal bid opening.
The two smaller bids were both dated Sept. 27, 2023 and opened two weeks before Southern Reflection’s bid, dated Oct. 10, 2023, was opened.
According to Cookendorfer, the Town’s amended Purchasing Ordinance 4-1005, does not require the Town to issue or post a formal written RFP for bidders, but bids are required for purchases over $1,500. The ordinance calls for “ample opportunity for competitive bidding or request for proposal (RFP).”
The building is being donated to the Town by Lee Thomas to be used, specifically, as a museum for the Town. It is located behind Laura’s Tea Room and facing Church Street.
Thomas said the building and property have been owned by his family for nearly 150 years. It was built in approximately 1875, and was established as a mercantile business. He said the building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Cookendorfer said council will be applying for a grant from Fairfield County to help pay for the cost of the foundation repair. Another possible source of funding for the project, he said, is money that was left over from the Town’s ARP award during COVID.
