Monroe County staff on Oct. 2 reported receipt of two sealed bids for Election Central renovations and asked the Board of Commissioners to take the bids under advisement so staff can return with a recommendation.

Richard Kreider, building fleet manager, said construction documents are complete and the project was in the bidding phase. Advertisements were issued on Sept. 9 and Sept. 17; the original submission deadline was Sept. 25 but staff extended the deadline by one week due to scope changes. Two sealed bids were opened: Strauser Construction Co. (Bloomington) submitted a base bid of $506,800 with an alternate of $146,800; Fox Company (Bloomington) submitted a base bid of $509,450 with an alternate of $183,700. Staff said they would review the bids and hoped to return with a recommendation the following week.

Commissioners took the bids under advisement; no award or contract decision was made during the Oct. 2 meeting and no public comment on the item was recorded.

Staff noted the project has moved from design and development into the active bidding phase.