Cape Girardeau County commissioners approve chip-and-seal bid

Chip and seal is a done deal.

Cape Girardeau County commissioners approved the $788,124 proposal offered by Blevins Asphalt Construction Co. Inc. of Mount Vernon, Mo.

The county engineering estimate was $1,018,970.

All five bids received were adjusted to include an additional 2,010 tons of chip-and-seal aggregate. The county's original bid request erred in specifying half the necessary amount.

Chip-and-seal paving costs about 50 percent less than traditional hot-mix asphalt. The county plans to test chip and seal by applying it on county roads 273, 316, 380, 422, 425, 439, 440 and 522.

Other bids were: Missouri Petroleum Products Co. LLC, St. Louis, $1,199,320; ASA Asphalt Inc., Advance, $1,151,253.20; Donelson Construction Co. LLC, Clever, Mo., $863,056; A.E. Simpson Construction Inc., Scott City, $794,374.

The three county commissioners also took in a presentation on webcasting their meetings. The recommendations include purchasing a broadcast-quality camera; a computer to process images and audio; an Internet connection; and a service for hosting and archiving the broadcasts. The county's estimated costs include a one-time fee of $5,000 for the camera and computer and $4,644 annually for the Web hosting and connection services. Up to 100 people could simultaneously watch a commission meeting online with the service. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones asked for more information, including what other Missouri counties are doing, if anything, to put meetings on the Internet.

The commissioners also learned of the initial cost of last week's ice storm. Don McQuay, director of public works, told the board the county faces $56,809 in overtime for workers. The cost of cleaning up debris is undetermined, but the task will take months, he said. The commissioners approved McQuay's request to rent a wood chipper that can process limbs up to 12 inches in diameter; the county has a smaller wood chipper. Commissioners also agreed to buy bucket-and-thumb collectors for a backhoe and excavator. The equipment, which is used to grab debris, will speed the county's cleanup, McQuay said.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127