City Council Meeting Date: March 17, 2026
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: David Bennett, Public Works Director/City Engineer
Sean Simonson, Engineering Manager
Title
Consider Accepting Bids and Awarding Contract - 2026 Mill and Overlay & Mill Towns State Trail Improvements Project.
Body
Action Requested:
Staff recommends approval of the attached Resolution (Attachment 1) accepting bids and awarding the contract for the 2026 Mill and Overlay & Mill Towns State Trail Improvements Project. (STRT2026-A83)
Summary Report:
The City Council is being asked to award the contract for the 2026 Mill and Overlay & Mill Towns State Trail Improvements Project. (STRT2026-A83). The Plans and Specifications were completed by both the City of Northfield Engineering Department and Bolton and Menk, Inc., and at the February 10, 2026, City Council Meeting, the Council authorized the advertisement for bids via Resolution 2026-021. (Attachment 2) The ad for bid was published in the Northfield News, on the MnDOT eAdvert site, and the City of Northfield website.
The project scope includes work on the following improvements (Attachment 3):
• Maple Street from Meadow View Drive to Jefferson Parkway (Mill & Overlay)
• Maple Court (Mill & Overlay)
• Prairie Street from Meadow View Drive to Jefferson Parkway (Mill & Overlay)
• Jefferson Parkway from Division Street to Spring Creek Road (Mill & Overlay)
• Prairie Street from Woodley Street to Jefferson Parkway (Bikeway Improvements)
• Prairie Street from Lia Drive to Prairie View Court (New Sidewalk on East Side)
• Jefferson Parkway from Prairie Street to Spring Creek Road (New Trail on North Side)
• Mill Towns Trail from Division Street to Spring Creek Road (South Side of Jefferson Parkway until Prairie Street then North through Spring Creek Park)
• Jefferson Parkway and Washington Street (Crossing improvements)
• Jefferson Parkway and Maple Street (Crossing improvements)
• Jefferson Parkway and Prairie Street (Crossing improvements)
• Jefferson Parkway and Michigan Drive (Crossing improvements)
• Jefferson Parkway and Sibley View Trail (Crossing improvements)
• Jefferson Parkway and Afton Drive (Crossing improvements)
• Jefferson Parkway and Bunker Drive East and West (Crossing improvements)
• Jefferson Parkway and Wilcox Boulevard East and West (Crossing improvements)
• Jefferson Parkway and Spring Creek Park Trail (Crossing improvements)
The City received three (5) competitive bids (Attachment 4), which were publicly opened and tabulated on March 12, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. The bids ranged from $3,724,199.31 to $4,224,464.55 with the lowest responsible bidder being Northwest Asphalt, Inc. with a total bid amount of $3,724,199.31. This is compared to the engineer’s estimate of $4,423,208.00. This project is identified in the 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), and funding for the project is a combination of enterprise funds, franchise fees, Capital Reserve Funds, and bonding as outlined in the funding tables below.
Alternative Options:
City Council may decide not to award this project; however, these roads will continue to deteriorate due to the condition of the current pavement surface, and future maintenance requirements will increase significantly.
Staff does not recommend any alternative actions outside of considering award of contract.
Financial Impacts:
The funding tables at the time of the contract award are shown below. In addition, funding for the 1% for the arts is included with the project. The award resolution includes transferring the 1% for the arts to the Arts and Culture Fund at this time.
Tentative Timelines:
Attachment 5 is the Project Process.