Woodstock selectmen consider project bids for Lake Christopher dam

    Woodstock selectmen are pondering their choice of five bids to rebuild the leaking Lake Christopher dam.
    On Tuesday they opened bids for the project, designed by engineer Jim Sysko.
    Sysko’s original cost estimate was $135,000. The town has been putting aside funds to repair the dam, last year adding $100,000 to an existing $15,000 fund.
    Tuesday’s base bids ranged from a low of $49,200 from Korhonen Land Care of Woodstock to a high of $123,364 from Wyman and Simpson of Richmond.
    The latter company just completed a project on Route 26 in Bryant Pond to rebuild a retaining wall.
    The other bids were $71,000 from Cross Excavation of Bethel; $109,000 from Andre’s Construction of Bethel; and $109,750 from Bancroft of South Paris.
    Each company also provided “overage” bids to cover extra quantities of materials, if needed, over what was included in the base bids. The materials include concrete, rocks and clay.
    Those amounts varied widely as well, ranging from $200 a cubic foot for concrete to $800; from $43 a cubic foot for rock to $102; and from $34 a cubic foot for clay to $110.
    Korhonen was the lowest bid in all three of those categories.
    Sysko, who attended the bid opening, said he would collaborate with selectmen in checking references on the companies and researching their work in neighboring towns.
    The board expects to choose a bidder at its next meeting, on March 5.
    Voters must approve a figure at the March 25 town meeting.
    Town Manager Vern Maxfield said Wednesday that before the bides were received, selectmen had tentatively proposed a warrant article adding another $55,000 to the fund, but he now hopes that figure may be significantly reduced or even eliminated.
    The work window for the project will be Aug. 15 to Sept. 15, when water levels in the lake are expected to be at their lowest.