Williamstown Fire District Accepts Bid for Driveway Project
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williamstown Fire District on Wednesday hired John's Tractor and Excavating Service of Lanesborough to install a new driveway and apron in front of the Water Street station.
The Prudential Committee, which governs the fire district, at its monthly meeting discussed the seven bids it received for the project. The quoted prices ranged from a high of $53,891 to the low, the accepted bid of $28,755.
Jeff Randall of Dalton's Hill Engineering, which did the specifications for the project, told the committee he was not sure why it saw such a range of prices.
John's Tractor, the low bid, came in more than $9,000 below the next highest bid.
"It may be the time frame scared [the other bidders] a little bit," Randall said. "It may be the compaction stuff scared them a little bit. It is hard to tell on a big job what drove the cost."
The committee made a point in its February meeting of asking Hill to make sure that the proper soil compaction was specified in the contract.
While Randall could not explain the disparate bids, he did tell the committee that he has experience working with John's Tractor on other projects.
"I worked with them on three jobs last year … all in the $25,000 to $35,000 range," he said. "I was satisfied with their work."
The three-person committee voted unanimously to award the contract to John's.
Randall said the project should take about three weeks once it gets under way, which likely would not be until mid-April when asphalt is available.
On a related note, the Prudential Committee discussed a water line under the driveway which members fear may be leaking and undermining the soil — causing damage to the pavement above.
The panel hopes that it can take advantage of the pavement's removal to dig down and examine the pipe before new pavement is laid.
District Clerk and Treasurer Corydon Thurston noted that while the driveway project only requires digging 18 inches or less, the water line likely is at least 4 feet below grade to get below the frost line.
"Should we push the water department to do the investigation after we cut the blacktop off?" Thurston said. "Somebody is going to end up paying for it. That's the issue I want you guys to plan for."
The committee directed Thurston to ask the town's water department to take responsibility of the additional excavation that will be required.
In other business on Wednesday, the Prudential Committee decided to offer a 2 percent pay increase to the district's one full-time employee, Chief Craig Pedercini, and a 5 percent hike for the town's call volunteer firefighters.
Tags: fire district, paving, prudential committee,
