MARSHALL – Base construction bids for both parts of a planned expansion of the Minnesota Emergency Response and Industrial Training Center are in, and together they’re under budget, MERIT Commission members learned Monday. While that was a positive thing for construction of classroom expansions and a driving training track, it also meant commissioners needed to discuss priorities before recommending any bid alternates for the projects.

Members of the MERIT Commission held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss the bids received for construction of planned expansions at the MERIT Center. Two different sets of bids were opened for the project, one for classroom expansions at the MERIT Center and one for construction of a driving track that could be used for different kinds of training.

Architect David Maroney, of the firm ATS&R, said bids for expansion of the MERIT Center’s existing training center building were opened on Nov. 25, and bids for the driving track were opened Tuesday morning.

Maroney said bidding for both projects was competitive. A total of seven bids were received for the training center building, with the low base bid coming in at about $1.51 million from Mohs Construction of Owatonna. Four bids were received for the driving track, he said, with a low base bid of about $2.14 million, from R&G Construction of Marshall.

Maroney said the low base bids added together, without alternates, would be under budget estimates for construction. However, he said commissioners would need to think about which, if any, of several bid alternates on the projects should be pursued. Maroney said alternates for the driving track include options like extending a water line to the track, building a concrete “skills pad” where driving training exercises could be staged, or grading work that would prepare for future expansions. Alternates for the training center building include options like having polished concrete flooring and building connections for a possible emergency generator.

Commissioners present at Tuesday’s meeting debated whether to opt for alternates on the driving track or the training center building, although group consensus tended toward the training center options.

“We don’t technically need an answer today,” said Marshall City Administrator Ben Martig. The Marshall City Council will consider awarding bids for the two projects during its Dec. 23 meeting, Martig said. The council will also be considering construction bids for the Southwest Minnesota Regional Amateur Sports Center in January.