Bids for city projects hard to come by
City Engineer Cale Smith reported a shortage of bids for four Homewood city projects at a city council meeting on Monday, Sept. 12.
Smith said they received no bids for the Mecca Avenue sidewalks project and only one bid for the Delcris Drive sidewalks project as well as for the Huntington stormwater culvert replacement project and College Avenue stormwater improvement project.
“There are a few reasons why we didn’t get those bids,” Smith said. “One of them is just because that’s where we are in the construction industry. Everything is expensive, if folks can get it (materials).”
The bid for Delcris Drive came in at about $558,000, with the city's budget for that project set at roughly $400,000.
The bid for Huntington Road came in at about $1 million, while the bid for College Avenue came in at roughly $780,000.
The council approved Smith’s recommendation to reject the bids and carry those agenda items over to the city budget hearing while he further negotiates with construction companies on pricing.
In other business, the council:
- Approved the recommendation to carry over the public hearing for the consideration of annexing 314 Happy Lane into Homewood to the next council meeting on Sept. 26.
- Approved the removal of a zoning restriction at 1116 Hollywood Manor Drive that will allow a single family home to be built on the property
- Approved the request for a front yard fence variance at 207 Mecca Avenue on condition the fence is returned to regulation when or if the tenants move from the property
- Approved the recommendation to declare the property at 327 East Glenwood Drive a public nuisance
- Granted an ABC alcohol license for Buka, LLC at 186 Oxmoor Road
- Approved vouchers for period of Aug. 23 - Sept. 12.