Artist’s rendering of portion of Almont DDA 2020 Streetscape Project.
Almont DDA project will be
bid out again in Jan., 2020
ALMONT — The Almont DDA’s proposed downtown streetscape project is being postponed until next year because of an absence of bidders.
DDA Director Kim Schall said the $125,770 project was put out for bids in early summer.
Unfortunately, not a single contractor submitted a bid.
Schall attributed the lack of bids to wet weather conditions early in the season and an over-abundance of already scheduled and/or ongoing projects.
“We’re hearing that contractors were set back by the rainy and extremely hot weather and got off to a late start,” said Schall. “Now they are finding themselves overwhelmed and backlogged.”
She said the DDA did receive a bid from American Tree of Almont for a portion of the project.
However, in the absence of a main contractor, the DDA Board could not proceed with the project.
“As things stand, we are going to hold off and put the project out for bids again in January of 2020,” she said.
Schall pointed out that nearly half of the project’s cost—$56,520—will be funded through a 50/50 matching grant awarded the Almont DDA by the USDA.
The grant, which Schall applied for in May and was approved in June, was the third largest awarded by the USDA in 2019.
The Saginaw-based Spicer Group has been hired to serve as the engineer for the project.
The location of the upgrades are along the east and west sides of Van Dyke (Main St.) from Stone Street north to Washington Street in the village’s downtown district.
The full scope of the DDA’s 2020 Streetscape Project will include:
•Removing 32 overgrown Bradford pear trees and replacing them with smaller, slower-growing trees.
•Removing raised and uneven concrete along Main Street to reduce slips and falls and to ensure the safety of pedestrians walking in the area.
•Installing new planter boxes to decrease maintenance costs.
•Overall restoration of the area within the project’s scope.
While bids will not be accepted until early 2020, Schall said that at that time, potential bidders will be able to register and view the project at Bidding.spicergroup.com.
Tom Wearing started at the Tri-City Times in 1989, covering the Village of Capac as a beat reporter. He later served stints as assistant editor and editor. Today, he covers Imlay City and Almont as a staff writer. He enjoys music and plays drums and sings with various musical groups in the Detroit Metropolitan area.
