With no bidders, commissioners authorize negotiations for stormwater work; manager may execute contract up to grant amount

Dare County staff reported that three rounds of solicited bids for stormwater projects on Old Lighthouse Road, NC 12 and Hatteras produced no responsive bidders. The county received grants for the work and told the board Jan. 5 it needed authority to negotiate directly with a contractor to meet grant timelines.

Barton, the project lead, told commissioners that consultants had value-engineered initial proposals down to within the grant amount. The board authorized the county manager to negotiate with Fred Smith Company and to execute a contract not to exceed $734,000, the grant amount on the table, in order to proceed. The motion passed unanimously.

Commissioners noted statewide bidding competition and heavy contractor workloads as background for the lack of bidders; staff said they had reached out to local Hatteras Island contractors and to multiple firms but capacity constraints limited responses.