The Starke County Commissioners were asked Monday night to rebid the Constellation of Starke projects.
Constellation of Starke Board member and County Attorney Marty Lucas told the commissioners that four proposed projects were let for bid to be paid for with $333,000 in funds from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) for being a finalist in the 2019 Regional Stellar Communities Designation process.
The projects include a trail head at Bass Lake, a restroom project at the North Judson Town Park, a new shelter at Wythogan Park in Knox, and a pavilion at the Koontz Lake Beach.
When the members recently opened the bids, they found them to be over the $333,000 budget plus the match money submitted by several municipalities and donors for the projects.
Lucas said the members of Constellation of Starke recommend that the projects be rebid.
Lucas commented, “We voted to recommend to the commissioners that this be rebid either in the fall or in January or early February. We would make a couple of changes. One, we would work with OCRA where we would come up with a way to allow for more alternate bids that would hopefully get us within our budget. Secondly, we would hope that the supply chain settles down and that the bids become more competitive and we’re able to do it within the budget.”
The commissioners unanimously voted to rebid the projects.
