Bids for the addition to Lincoln Elementary School came in lower than expected, following suit with bids from the Jefferson Elementary addition, which opened last week.
Officials from Hulsing & Associates of Dickinson, the architectural company working on both the Jefferson and Lincoln additions, along with Dickinson Public Schools officials, were on hand to open the bids Thursday.
The lowest general bid came in from Kolling & Kolling Inc. of Dickinson, at $1,050,800. The highest came from Nor-Son, Inc. of Minneosta with $1,231,000, a difference of $180,200.
"The high bid was a lot higher, all the rest were sort of bunched together, very, very close," said Jan Prchal, architect with Hulsing & Associates.
Two new companies that did not bid on the Jefferson project bid on the Lincoln project: Nor-Son, Inc. and Shingobee of Minnesota.
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Mechanical, electrical and "prime" bids -- which include mechanical, general and electrical bids -- were also opened.
Along with general bids, alternate bids were required. Alternate bid items may not necessarily be a part of the finished plans for the additions, depending on whether or not the school board feels it can afford them, said Vince Reep, DPS assistant superintendent.
"There's a lot of numbers to add up in terms of the alternates," Reep said. "Before next week we'll have those numbers crunched so that we can give an administrative recommendation to the board, at least on which alternates we think we can afford."
Reep said he guesses at this point, with bids being quite competitive, the district will be able to do all of the alternates that the board deems necessary for both projects.
Reep said by state law, the school board must accept the lowest responsible bidder.
"We're just excited that we have some good competitive bids," Reep said. "It looks like both of these projects will be flying high."
The next school board meeting is slated for March 8 at 5 p.m. in the Central Administration Office building.
