County Supervisors Reject Cactus Asphalt Bid for $1 Million Road Work

I cannot give you a motion, I won’t second a motion, with Cactus Asphalt doing any work for Gila County”

Supervisor Humphrey

Supervisors reject low bid for Gibson Ranch Road improvements

The supervisors rejected a low bid from Cactus Transport, dba Cactus Asphalt, to perform over a million dollars’ worth of work on the Gibson Ranch Road project. Staff had recommended awarding to Cactus Asphalt due to the company being the low bidder, at $1,077,419 (including a 10% owner contingency). 

However, supervisors raised serious concerns about the company’s performance on past projects, including Gisela Road, where severe issues with workmanship and responsiveness caused damage to vehicles and major headaches for the county.

“I cannot give you a motion, I won’t second a motion, with Cactus Asphalt doing any work for Gila County,” Supervisor Humphrey said.

Supervisor Cline stressed that a low bid is not the only standard - the county must award contracts to the “lowest responsible bidder,” and responsibility includes a record of quality work. County Manager James Menlove pointed out that it did not appear that the low bidder, Cactus Asphalt, was a responsible bidder, so the board was free to reject that bid. 

County Engineer Tom Goodman said county staff learned lessons from the Gisela debacle and has now built safeguards into contracts to ensure better results in the future. Those safeguards include: 

• A 500-foot chip seal test strip is required. 
• Requiring the contractor to work on one lane at a time, with each lane needing approval by county engineering staff before work can begin on the next lane. 
• Each lane will also require approval before it can be opened to traffic. 
• The county will also require nighttime traffic restrictions, at the contractor’s cost, if county engineers aren’t happy with the condition of the road. 
• In addition, the county will assign a full-time project manager who will be present on the site on a regular basis.

The board voted to reject the Cactus Asphalt bid for being neither responsive nor responsible, and awarded the contract instead to Action Direct LLC, the next-lowest bidder, at $1,338,469, plus 10% contingency. Action Direct, dba Red Point, is currently working for the county on the Russell Gulch project.

County supports Taste of the Bridge Event fundraiser for Tonto Natural Bridge State Park

The supervisors approved an agreement to support the Taste of the Bridge fundraiser put on by Rim Country Friends of Tonto Natural Bridge State Park with a $1,000 sponsorship. 

Andy Stadler, the organization’s president, pointed out that without community action, the park would have closed in 2007 or 2008. Since then, the group has continued to raise funds for ongoing improvements and maintenance. 

The Taste of the Bridge is the organization’s only fundraising event each year. Attendees enjoy food and wine, beer, and whisky tastings, live music, and both silent and live auctions. Stadler said all money raised goes directly back into the park.

Stadler emphasized the broader economic value of the park, benefitting the entire surrounding area by boosting tourism.

“This park generates over $7 million in revenue for not only the local economy but for the county as a whole,” Stadler said.

Portion of SR77 to be named in honor of local figure Lester F. Quinn

The supervisors voted to support designating a portion of State Route 77 between Globe and Winkelman - from milepost 135 to milepost 170.93 - as the L.F. Quinn Memorial Highway. 

According to the proclamation, Lester F. Quinn was a dedicated public servant who played a significant role in shaping the Globe-Miami area. He arrived in Miami in 1912 with the opening of the Miami Bottling Works, which he and his family operated. 

Later, Quinn owned and operated several local enterprises, including the Texaco station in Miami and the Busy Boy in Globe. Over the course of his life, Quinn also served the community as a seven-time Gila County Supervisor (1935 to 1949) representing the Miami area, and as Gila County undersheriff as well as Arizona State Highway Commissioner. He was a Miami Miners baseball player and World War I veteran. 

Quinn was instrumental in the development and and state maintenance of Route 77, securing improvements and the inclusion of the stretch between Globe and Winkelman into the Arizona State Highway System. 

Debate over demolition and salvage of Russell Gulch Landfill building

A request from Public Works to authorize soliciting bids for demolition of a steel building at Russell Gulch Landfill led to lengthy debate and discussion about how the situation had developed and how the building’s materials could be recycled.

The structure is a 50x100 former storage building, which has deteriorated significantly and now poses safety concerns, especially due to the fact that it is located near a methane monitoring station as well as next to a traffic lane. 

Supervisor Humphrey questioned why the building had not been demoed before, as it had been slated for demolition during the landfill expansion for cell 3A.

Menlove said his belief is the building was not demolished earlier because a substantial amount of records had been stored inside it. Menlove said those records have now been removed, although there are still papers in the building that would need to be sorted through.

Supervisor Cline asked why the steel frame - which is made of 3/8ths red iron - could not be salvaged rather than destroyed. Joseph Dickison, the county’s facilities director, responded that the building was unstable and unsafe for reuse, but acknowledged that salvage options had not been fully investigated. However, he expressed concerns about the cost of having an engineer look at it.

The supervisors voted to table the item, directing staff to gather more detailed information on the situation before the board considers demolition again. 

See the full report on our website, including the motions approved, by going to www.globemiamitimes.com.