Board awards sheriff's parking-lot contract after eight bids; Jones Contracting low bidder

The Des Moines County Board of Supervisors approved a contract on Jan. 20 to replace the sheriff's office parking lot after public-works staff reported strong competition from eight bidders.

Public-works staff told the board the engineer's estimate was about $300,000 but that bids came in much lower than that for comparable projects; the meeting record shows the low bidder was Jones Contracting. Staff recommended approval and said they had added contract language to preserve access behind the building for on-duty deputies as long as possible and to limit closures.

"We had 8 bidders on this," the presenter said. "The parking lot is certainly in poor shape. It will look different when we're done." The contract includes a late start date of Aug. 3 and 32 working days to complete the work, after which liquidated damages would apply if the contractor missed the schedule.

Supervisors discussed staging to accommodate ADA ramps and future maintenance needs and voted to approve the contract.

Why it matters: The project upgrades sheriff's office facilities and includes ADA compliance work; staff emphasized efforts to limit disruption to deputies' access and to coordinate with planned future maintenance projects.

Next steps: County staff will finalize contract signatures and manage scheduling and staging with the sheriff's office and contractor.