MINOT — Selectmen awarded the contract for work on the town’s multipurpose/soccer field to Washburn & Son of Minot.

Washburn & Son’s bid of $11,200 was less than half the next lowest of the four bids selectmen opened Monday night, causing some selectmen to wonder whether the bid addressed all the work that was called for.

Candace Gilpatric, spokesperson for the Recreation Committee, assured the board that the bidder fully understood what was expected and that there were reasons for the bid being as low as it is.

Gilpatric said Washburn is being paid by a third party to remove from their property much of the 1,200 cubic yards of fill Washburn is providing to the town and that the length of the haul is not great.

Gilpatric also noted that historically, Washburn has been very kind to the town in work they have done in developing the town’s new athletic fields and walking trails.

“And Washburn has done a lot of work for us,” Lisa Cesare, one of the Recreation Committee’s founding members and now a selectmen, added.

Gilpatric said the low bid might allow for additional work to be undertaken this year instead of putting it off until another, and that the Recreation Committee would have to consider whether it could proceed with loam and seeding now.

Selectmen, having opened five bids for work on the town’s summer paving program, awarded the contract to Lane/White Brothers at the low bid of $71.09 per ton. The company will provide 3,309 tons of material for Goodwin Road and Grange Avenue.

Town Administrator Arlan Saunders noted that the bid was well within the estimates he used when preparing his request for the amount approved by town meeting voters.

Saunders also opened three responses he received to requests for proposals to repair, straighten and reset the oldest section of stones in the Center Minot Hill Cemetery, with selectmen awarding the work to Russell Brown Masonry of Buckfield at a bid price of $3,000.

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