Carson City supervisors awarded a $2.3 million contract for work related to the planned freeway's construction, but not without a bit of controversy.
Carson City is responsible for relocating water, sewer and reclaimed water facilities as part of an agreement with Nevada Department of Transportation.
There are two phases of the utility relocation project, and Gerhardt and Berry Construction of Reno had the low bid for the first part of the project at $1.89 million.
But the contract was awarded to Contri Construction of Reno, which bid $1.95 million, under a state law which allows projects to be awarded to a higher bidder if the bidder has a certificate of eligibility from the state contractors board.
The bid also has to be less than 5 percent higher than the lower bid.
Gerhardt and Berry did not present a certificate with its bid; however, Contri did.
Mark Lenz, legal counsel for Gerhardt and Berry, claimed the construction company didn't have sufficient time to obtain a certificate because the contractors board issued the certificates too late. They were made available Jan. 14 and the bids were opened Jan. 19.
Mayor Ray Masayko voted against awarding Contri the contract only as a "sympathy vote" for Gerhardt and Berry.
"The high moral ground is not always supported by the legal ground," Masayko said.
Contri was also awarded Part B of the project with a bid of $379,928.
Part A of the utility project includes relocating water, sewer and reclaimed water facilities in the College Parkway/Northgate Lane area. Part B is the same work in the Arrowhead Drive area.
Construction should start in mid-February and continue until August. The utilities must be moved because they interfere with drainage for the freeway.
