68-521. Letting of certain contracts; plans and specifications; publication notice; bids, surety; award; bond of contractor; duty of county attorney; inspection by engineer; roads damaged or destroyed
68-521
68-521. Letting of certain contracts; plans andspecifications; publication notice; bids, surety; award; bond of contractor;duty of county attorney; inspection by engineer; roads damaged or destroyed bydisaster.(a) The board of county commissioners before awarding any contract for theconstruction, surfacing, repairing or maintaining of any road as providedin K.S.A. 68-520, and amendments thereto,when the county engineer's estimatedcost of such improvement is more than $25,000,shall have the approvedplans and specifications which have been adopted by order of the board forsuch work filed in the county clerk's office or in some other countyoffice designated by the board at least 20 daysprior to the time of the letting.
The county clerk or some other county officer designated by the boardshall give not less than 20 days' notice ofthe letting by publication in at least two consecutive weekly issues ofthe official county paper, the first publication of such notice to be notless than 20 days prior to such letting.The notice shall specifywith reasonable minuteness the character of the improvement contemplated,where it is located, the kind of material to be used, the hour, date andplace of letting of such contract, when the work is to be completed, andinvite sealed proposals for the same. Such other notice may be given as theboard may deem proper. All bids shall be made on the proposal blanksfurnished by the county, signed by the bidder, sealed and delivered, orsent by mail, by the bidder, or the agent or attorneythereof, to the county clerk or to some other county officerdesignated by the board. The letting of all contracts shall be conductedin such manner as to givefree, open competition, and all qualified bidders,shall be given an equal opportunityto bid upon the plans and specifications on file. Each bidder shall berequired to accompany the submitted bid with a bid surety in an amountequal to 5% of the bid amount in the form prescribed by the board as aguarantee that, if the contract is awarded to the bidder, the bidder willenter into the contract with the board. If a bidder fails to enter intothe contract when awarded to the bidder, the bid surety shall become theproperty of the county as its liquidated damages and shall be paid to thecounty treasurer for credit to the general fund of the county, and theboard may award the contract to the nextlowest responsible bidder. The bids shall be opened publicly by the boardor a designee thereofat the place, date and hour named in the advertising notice, and allbids shallbe considered, and accepted or rejected.
In case the work is let at such public letting or thereafter, the contractshall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, or the board, if it deemsthe proposals too high, may reject allbids, and readvertise the work as before.No such contractshall be let at an amount exceeding 110% of the county engineer'sestimated costof the work. No such contract shall be considered as awarded unless thecontractor shall within 21 days after the letting enter into contractand shall give the bond required by K.S.A. 60-1111, and amendmentsthereto, and a performance bond to the county in a penal sumequal to the amount ofthe contract price, conditioned upon the faithful performance of thecontract, payable to the county upon failure to comply with the terms ofthe contract. The contractor shall file with thecounty clerk the bonds, which shall be approved by the chairperson of theboard and the county attorney by their signatures indorsed thereon.
(b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to contracts for theexpenditure of county moneys for the reconstruction or repair of a road if:
(1) The road has been damaged or destroyed as a result of a disaster;
(2) the governor has declared the county, or that part of the county inwhich the road is located, a disaster area;
(3) the board of county commissioners finds that a hardship would result ifthe road is not immediately reconstructed or repaired;
(4) the board of county commissioners has obtained an estimate of the costof the reconstruction or repair of the road from the county engineer. If thereis no county engineer, the board shall obtain such estimate from the Kansasdepartment of transportation; and
(5) the contract for the reconstruction or repair of the road is awardedwithin 60 days of the governor's declaration required by paragraph (2).
(c) The county attorney or county counselor shall meet with andadvise the board of countycommissioners in all matters pertaining to letting and making of all contractsunder this act. The board may make partial payments, on the writtenestimate of its county engineer, upon any contract work asthe same progresses,but not more than 95% of the estimate of the materialsfurnished and work done, or of the contract price, shall be paid in advanceof the full and satisfactory completion of the contract. Final paymentshall not be made on any such contract until the countyengineer has inspected the work and certified in writing that it has beenproperly done and completed in accordance with the contract, plans andspecifications, and the county engineer's certificate to thateffect has been filed in the office of the county clerk or some other countyofficer designated by the board.
History: L. 1917, ch. 264, § 28;L. 1919, ch. 245, § 8;R. S. 1923, 68-521;L. 1973, ch. 106, § 24;L. 1987, ch. 97, § 2;L. 1993, ch. 84, § 1;L. 1994, ch. 119, § 3;L. 2005, ch. 81, § 1;L. 2008, ch. 148, § 8; July 1.