Full house for Board of Commissioners bid openings, solid waste rate increases

ALBANY — The Board Room of the Linn County Courthouse was full of people Tuesday morning, as representatives of construction companies were present for two Road Department projects bid openings and representatives from area waste management companies were on hand to finalize their annual fee adjustments.

Roadmaster Wayne Mink opened six sealed bids for each of the two projects and County Engineer Daineal Malone announced the individual bids.

The apparent low bids will be evaluated by the Road Department to ensure all bidding rules were followed and if so, staff will provide a “recommendation to award” to the Board of Commissioners for the actual award of the contracts.

Bids for the Cox Creek Goldfish Farm Bridge Replacement project were: Cascade Civil Corp, Redmond, $2,428,388; Farline Bridge Inc., Stayton, $2,470,088.20; Legacy Contracting Inc., Stayton, $2,578,555.45; Hamilton Construction, Springfield, $2,635,963.75; Oregon State Bridge Construction, Stayton, $2,661,809.25; M.J. Hughes Construction, Vancouver, Wash., $3,055,624.75.

Bids for the Owl Creek Peoria Road Bridge Replacement were: Farline Bridge Inc., Stayton, $1,071,818.43; Cascade Civil Corp, Redmond, $1,090,639; Hamilton Construction, Springfield, $1,175,587; Oregon State Bridge Construction, Stayton, $1,208,855.25; Legacy Contracting, Stayton, $1,343,386.48; M.J. Hughes Construction, Vancouver, Wash., 1,595,238.

The commissioners approved a supplemental project agreement between Linn County and the Oregon Department of Transportation to fund the Murder Creek (Nygren Road) bridge. Roadmaster Mink said this is a federally-funded project and this order grants reimbursement of up to $877,110.75 for Linn County’s work with preliminary design, right-of-way and construction for rehabilitation of the bridge.

The commissioners also approved an engineering contract with David Evans and Associates for the Cox Creek (Waverly Drive) bridge in Millersburg. The contract is not to exceed $832,306.33. This project is 100 percent reimbursable by; the Oregon Department of Transportation, 89.73 percent and City of Millersburg, 10.27 percent.

In other business, the Commissioners:

• Approved annual rate increases for waste management companies that provide service to rural residents. Approval was made after lengthy discussions. Environmental Health Director Shane Sanderson said the Solid Waste Advisory Committee met on July 15, 2024 and proposed an 8% return on investment for Republic Services-Albany, Republic Services-Corvallis, Pacific Sanitation and Sweet Home Sanitation Services (Waste Management). To meet that goal, the following was approved: Republic Services-Albany, 2.875; Republic Services-Corvallis, negative 1.43%; Sweet Home Sanitation, 1.52% and Pacific Sanitation, 5.18%.

• Approved an annual audit contract with Aldrich CPAs and Advisors LLP, from Salem.
• Approved an intergovernmental agreement with Lincoln County not to exceed $48,283 with Lincoln County to complete a Public Health Analysis between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025. The analysis will support regional collaboration on communicable disease reporting and prevention through disease specialist work.
• Learned there were 57 births (35 females and 22 males) and 121 deaths (52 females and 69 males) in January. There were no recorded suicides. Shane Sanderson said the Public Health Department has seen an uptick in pertussis (whooping cough) over the winter months.
• Approved a temporary employment agreement with Lori Frenzel for a position as a Civil Clerk at the Linn County Sheriff’s Office. She is a retired deputy who will work part-time, assisting with the Civil Division.
• Approved removing Background Investigator compensation increases from the Deputy Sheriff’s Association Collective Bargaining Agreement to being determined solely by management. Contracts are with Timothy Suttles, Paul Timm, Kevin Guilford and Casey Dorland.
• Appointed Tina Smith to the Linn Local Advisory Committee and to the Mental Health Advisory Board.

Media contact: Alex Paul, Linn County Communications Officer, 541-967-3825 or email apaul@co.linn.or.us.