Buckley accepts only bid for extension of the Foothills Trail

By John Leggett-The Courier-Herald

Rodarte Construction, the same firm responsible for refurbishing Main Street and Ryan Road in Buckley, was given another bit of good news during the Sept. 26 meeting of the Buckley City Council.

Rodarte was awarded a bid for slightly more than $201,000 to finish the Foothills Trail Extension that is to run all the way to the White River.

“Rodarte was the only one to turn in a bid for the project,” said City Administrator David Schmidt.

“While it did take them a bit longer than the initial prediction to finish Main Street, let's not forget that the Main Street project actually came in under budget,” he added.

Among other actions that transpired during the relatively brief meeting, was the decision, by a split vote of 4-3, to surplus a wastewater treatment plant compost drying shed that currently sits on the ground where the city plans to build part of its new treatment plant. The shed is 60 feet by 90 feet.

City engineers estimate the cost for the structure's demolition and consequent removal would run in the neighborhood of $14,000 to $16,000.

“We have neither the staffing, time or money to handle this job,” Schmidt said, “so what we voted to do was to offer the materials from the structure to the highest bidder as a means of saving the city money and to expedite the removal of this rather large structure.

“It was suggested to me that perhaps one of the many horse breeders on the Plateau could utilize the materials to build a horse arena. The only stipulation of course being that the winner of the bid would have sole responsibility for demolition and removal of materials,” Schmidt added.

John Leggett can be reached at jleggett@courierherald.com.

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