28-02-2025
City approves funding aimed at roads and streets
The city of Frederick is looking to better maintain its roads and streets.
City Council members approved funding for two measures to address imperfections on the surfaces used by cars, cyclists, wheelchairs, pedestrians and others moving around the City of Clustered Spires.
One item, approved at a Feb. 20 meeting, involved a $164,517 contract, including a $15,000 contingency, with O'Connell & Lawrence Inc., an engineering firm headquartered in Olney, according to city documents.
Nicole Harshman, manager of projects and inspections for the city, said at the meeting that the money would go toward understanding the current state of sidewalks and curbs, as well as ramps' compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, using high-resolution images and geotagged locations.
'The work includes collecting data, creating a sidewalk condition index, data integration into our asset management program and creating a plan for prioritization of repairs,' Harshman said.
She added that the project would begin in late March or early April and take around six months to complete.
Council President Katie Nash said the upcoming inventory study was 'a long time coming.'
Nash said she appreciated that this represented a 'move to a more proactive approach' than the current complaint-driven process.
Harshman estimated that the city has over 600 miles of sidewalk, given the approximate 300 miles of roadway and that most developments have sidewalks on both sides.
'It's a lot of sidewalk,' Council Member Kelly Russell said.
Russell added that she was excited to see sidewalk infrastructure improved, as it had been a budget priority of hers.
The city may use the results of the study to inform a multi-year rehabilitation program, according to city documents.
Nash said she appreciated advancing the first step toward a sidewalk maintenance approach, but wanted to make sure that after the results of the contractor's assessment, the city would have budget and action items ready to implement a plan.
The council unanimously approved the purchase.
The council also unanimously approved a contract with M.T. Laney Company, Inc., an asphalt paving and site development firm out of Eldersburg, the incumbent vendor, for $146,405.
The contract is to repair streets with permanent asphalt patches, at the direction of and to the standards of the city, according to the records.
Nash said she was concerned that the repeat use of the same vendors could imply that the bidding process was not opened wide enough to consider new vendors.
In addition to the bid that was chosen, the city received two other bids.
HMF Paving Contractors, Inc., out of Frederick, bid $237,610 and Finley Asphalt & Concrete, out of Bristow, Virginia, bid $1,119,560, according to city records.
Council Member Donna Kuzemchak said such a vast difference in bids led her to question if contractors really were 'comparing apples to apples.'
Justin Gruden, public works project manager, said the 'high bid was a red flag.'
Gruden added that unless there was a work performance issue, the city takes the lowest bid.
He said M.T. Laney had been excellent to work with.
Tracy Coleman, deputy director of public works, said that sometimes vendors bid high strategically.
'If they're the only bidder ... they're going to make a lot of money,' Coleman said.
She added that the contract was a line-item contract, in which the city listed the specific items and tasks it sought vendors to perform to improve roadways.
'So in this contract, it's apples to apples,' Coleman said. 'Or asphalt to asphalt, if you like.'
