Jasper County decides to remove planters and replace concrete sidewalk panels

Although the work won’t happen until next spring, the Jasper County Board of Supervisors decided on June 11 to have Jeff Seals Construction tear out the corner planters on the north side of the courthouse and replace them and surrounding areas of the sidewalk with a flush layer of concrete.

The county received a total of four bids from contractors. According to county documents, contractors were to remove the sets of planters, or bunkers, on the northwest and northeast corners and haul away the concrete, and then tear out old concrete, widen handicap bumps and pour new concrete.

Jeff Seals Construction estimated it would cost $8,000 to tear out the planters and then $34,000 to finish the concrete replacement project in specifically marked areas. In total, the project is to cost $42,000. It was not the lowest bid out of the four contractors who submitted quotes to Jasper County.

Maintenance director Adam Sparks said Griffin Excavating submitted a bid of $30,613.15; Karl Peters bid $60,850; and Lanphier Excavating bid $46,000. Supervisor Brandon Talsma was hesitant to accept the low bid because of its near $12,000 difference from the next lowest bid from Jeff Seals.

To him, it was a red flag, and he suggested other past projects have yielded questionable results when the discrepancy in price is that much. Talsma also argued it made sense for Jeff Seals to take over the project since the contractor had already done a number of concrete work around the courthouse.

The board of supervisors voted 3-0 to award the project to Jeff Seals, who will not be able to do the project until spring 2025.