Surapon Sujjavanich, the architect in charge of the renovations to the Vance County Jail, informed the Vance County Board of Commissioners on Monday night that the low bidder for the jail renovations was Blue Ridge Enterprises, Inc., of Mt. Aire.
Out of six bidding contractors, the low bidder came in at $1,793,000.
Sujjavanich characterized the job as a “very minimum upgrade”.
The architect noted that the bid exceeds the budget for the project. He said that he negotiated with the low bidder, but it did not help.
Sujjavanich said that he needs more time to continue the negotiation.
County Manager Jerry Ayscue commented that the bids were good for thirty days, and that he had requested that Sujjavanich renegotiate them. He said that an extension on the bids was granted and that the county had until the middle of May until they expired.
Ayscue went on to say that the economic stimulus package might offer some opportunities for energy conservation measures and financial assistance. He noted that those measures could increase cost, but indicated that package might offset those costs to the long-term savings of the county.
The board agreed to table the matter until May for further research.