Houghton School Bids Under Budget

Houghton school bids under budget
By GARRETT NEESE, Daily Mining Gazette Writer


HOUGHTON - Bids for the Houghton-Portage Township Schools' construction project came in $50,000 under budget, Gundach Champion's vice president of pre-construction told the Houghton-Portage Township school board Monday.

Jon Zander said they had received bids last Thursday. He called the step "the second defining moment of a project," its conception being the first.

The project, funded by a $12.5 million bond referendum passed in August, includes the construction of a new band room and gym, as well as exterior improvements. Work is scheduled to begin at the end of April.

There were 87 bids across various work categories. Twenty-two companies were selected for 24 different areas of work.

Post-bid interviews are being done this week, Zander said. Topics include making sure the company has enough manpower for the scope of work. "We want to make sure when we get into contracts, everything we're aware of has been discussed," he said.

If one of the bids was calculated incorrectly, Zander said they will try to work with the company to see if they can honor the original bid. If not, they'll go back to the second-lowest bidder. But that's rare, he said.