Five companies, including two from Maryland, submitted bids ranging from $118,555 to $168,900 yesterday to build a 220-foot emergency communications tower in Sykesville.
UNR Rohn of Peoria, Ill., was the low bidder in the competition to "design, ship, and erect" the tower, which officials said will improve emergency communications.
The tower, which will eliminate transmission blackouts in South Carroll, will be built on a site at Springfield Hospital Center. It is the final piece of the county's $8.2 million, seven-tower emergency communications system.
Rohn said it could build the tower during the summer for $118,555. To build the tower during the winter would cost slightly more, $127,065.
The winter price tag was $13,499 below the next lowest bidder, Drill Construction Company Inc. of West Orange, N.J., which submitted a bid of $140,564.
The county likely will consider the winter bid because officials would like to have the tower operational by April, said Jay R. Nave, administrative assistant for the county Bureau of Roads and Operations.
Nave said he preferred to have the tower running by January, if possible.
According to its site on the World Wide Web, Rohn has been building self-supporting communication towers for more than 20 years. Its towers are used worldwide, performing functions ranging from two-way microwave and cellular communications to surveillance camera mounts, weather stations, and high-level lighting of sports stadiums, the company said. Communication towers are one facet of the company's business. It also sells fencing, livestock equipment and modular concrete units for schools and offices.
Rohn's low bid does not guarantee that the Illinois company will build the tower, Nave said.
Before awarding the contract, the county and the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) will look at three factors: the bidder's reputation and references, its ability to do the job in a timely fashion, and cost.
MIEMSS, which will share the tower with the county, has agreed to reimburse the county the cost of building the tower and will help award the contract.
However, the county will have to pay up to $50,000 for the tower's new location because the original site is in the middle of a future state police parade ground. Nave told the County Commissioners on Oct. 10 that the site will have to be moved 150 yards at county expense.
If soil is better at the new site, Nave will seek to negotiate a "better price," he said, because the cost of the tower foundation was included in bid requirements. If soil conditions are worse, however, the successful bidder probably will want to increase the price, Nave said.
The county sent proposals to 16 companies.
The two Maryland companies that bid are United States Tower Services Ltd. of Frederick, which had the highest bid, $168,900; and Network Building and Consulting Inc. of Linthicum, which bid $148,400.
The other bidder was Allied Tower Co. of Webster, Texas, which bid $148,475.
Pub Date: 10/24/96
