The Moffat County Commissioners kept things short and sweet for their first March meeting.

With Commissioner Tony Bohrer absent, fellow commissioners Donald Broom and Melody Villard efficiently navigated through the agenda and consent items, with no public comments or general discussions from the attending audience.

The focus of the meeting was on two staff reports, the first presented by the Road & Bridge Department regarding bids for cattle guard iron.

Road and Bridge Director Dan Miller shared that the department’s total steel budget for the year is $50,000, which is meant to cover cattle guard iron, as well as other miscellaneous annual steel needs.

Miller said his department received three bids for the iron, with Peterson Metal Products out of Idaho bidding $18,534 and Doherty Welding from Oregon coming in at $20,932.

Local company Craig Steel submitted the lowest bid at $15,275.90 and ultimately earned Miller’s recommendation.

The second staff report was presented by Neil Binder from the Office of Development Services.

While awaiting Binder’s arrival in the commissioners’ chambers, Villard engaged with a concerned resident who raised grievances about the county’s use of electronic voting machines. The resident urged the commissioners to deny future funding for such machines, prompting Villard to encourage reaching out to appropriate officials for a thorough discussion.

Facing further pushback from the resident, Villard offered the reminder that while the county commissioners “do act as county managers because we don’t have an official county manager, we don’t manage other elected officials.”

Binder’s arrival put a pause on the discussion, with Villard offering to revisit the topic with the resident following the conclusion of the meeting.

Binder’s first report involved an amendment to the contract with Ivory Tip Fencing, which is owned by Bohrer. The amendment covered the demolition of two northern fences on the old courthouse property, with Ivory Tip Fencing offering to complete the task for an additional $14,400.

Despite the potential conflict of interest, Villard noted that Bohrer, had he been present, would have recused himself from the vote. In addition to Ivory Tip Fencing providing the lowest bid, Binder emphasized that the company was the only local contractor that bid on the project.

The second item on Binder’s agenda also dealt with the demolition process of the old courthouse. He presented a change order for the SGLC contract, explaining an unforeseen issue during asbestos abatement that resulted in an additional expense of $27,896.

The incident occurred when a pipe containing remnant water burst during a recent cold spell, causing a ceiling tile to fall to the floor and spread asbestos throughout the area.

Binder emphasized that while the incident “wasn’t something that was planned and was out of our control,” he wanted to ensure transparency on the project and its various associated costs.

As the county’s attorneys had already reviewed and approved the change order, Villard approved its addition to the consent agenda for the commissioners’ next meeting on March 26.