JANUARY 30, 2025|
Photo – Sage Creek Road south of Rawlins – Courtesy Google Maps
To avoid construction delays, county officials agreed to waive the procurement policy for designing repairs to Sage Creek Road.
During the January 21st Board of Carbon County Commissioners’ meeting, Road and Bridge Superintendent Kandis Fritz asked the board to bypass the standard bidding procedure and allow her to hire WLC Engineering and Surveying for $67,100. Fritz explained that the Casper-based engineering firm has already begun designing repairs for deteriorating portions of County Road 401, otherwise known as Sage Creek Road, and she doesn’t want to wait to find another engineering firm.
County policy states that all contracts for services with an estimated cost of $5,000 or more shall undergo a competitive bidding process. However, the board of commissioners may waive the standard procurement policy at their discretion if they feel that it is in the best interest of the county.
During the January 21st meeting, Road and Bridge Superintendent Fritz informed the board that the $67,100 is solely for WLC Engineering to design a process to stabilize six deteriorating miles of County Road 401. Fritz said actual construction costs will be considerably higher.
The money to pay WLC Engineering will come from the county’s Chokecherry and Sierra Madre impact assistance fund. Treasurer Lindsey West said the fund contains approximately $688,000, with $245,000 already earmarked for other projects. This leaves the county with roughly $443,000 left in the Chokecherry account.
Commissioner John Johnson said he has been pushing for repairs on Sage Creek Road for a long time. However, Commissioner Johnson expressed concern that the engineering project will further deplete the county’s dwindling impact assistant fund.
State regulators require all large-scale development projects, such as the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project, to contribute impact assistance funds to local governments in the construction area. The money is designed to mitigate the increased impact the projects have on local infrastructure and services.
Commissioner John Espy said he supports hiring WLC Engineering to design a repair protocol for County Road 401. Commissioner Espy said the county can use the same design documents to ensure that the entirety of Sage Creek Road is properly maintained.
The board unanimously voted to waive the standard procurement policy and use $67,100 from the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre impact assistance fund to hire WLC Engineering and Surveying to design repairs to a six-mile section of County Road 401.
