Melrose Council Awards Street Project Bid $124,500 Under Engineer's Estimate

MELROSE -- April 16, 2020, Melrose City Council awards 2020 street project at 22 percent under estimate. The council voted unanimously Thursday to award the 2020 street improvement contract to Markley Excavating of Alexandria, Minnesota, at $446,137, $124,500 below City Engineer Mike Nielsen's estimate of $570,637, and authorized a $25,000 soil-correction contingency to keep work moving between monthly meetings. The council also unanimously adopted an emergency revolving loan fund policy, waiving the application fee entirely, as six businesses had already applied for the full $10,000 maximum under the zero-percent, four-year loan program approved at the April 2 joint meeting with MADDA. Staff noted the repayment schedule had been stretched from two to four years after the shorter term produced projected payments over $400 a month. A first loan committee review was set for Monday morning, with the $100,000 pool available to as many as 10 businesses.