PARROTTSVILLE-The Parrottsville City Council at its monthly meeting held Thursday, March 4, passed a motion to rebid the paving of portions of Gilbert Street and Cockatiel Way.

The Council decided to rebid the paving with more specifications for companies to bid on than what the original bidding process required.

Five companies bid on the two projects, with the amounts read aloud at Thursday's City Council meeting.

One of the bidders, John Hale of John Hale Paving and Company, stressed to City Council members the importance of laying a foundation of base stone anywhere from three to six inches thick underneath the asphalt so that the roads will last longer.

Hale was the only representative of the five bidding companies who were present to hear the Council's decision, and to comment.

The companies that bid and their offers were:

Newport Paving, $23,677; Brown Brothers Paving, $30,000; Lee's Paving and Sealing, $32,000; John Hale Paving and Company, $36,456; and Summers & Taylor, $52,500.

Hale said his bid of $36,456 was for asphalt only, without the base stone, as asked for by the town.  It would be $45,851 with the base stone included, he said.

"Asphalt's only as good as the base it sits on," said Hale, who attended the meeting with his wife, Tina, and their son, John Edward.

Rather than automatically taking the lowest bid, Council members decided to rebid the paving projects to include the following: four inches of base, ripping and grading, putting rock on the roads, two inches of asphalt, and using the mix required by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The sealed bids will be opened at a future City Council meeting.

"Everyone needs to" bid on the same materials and work that the town wants done on the two roads, Mayor Ronnie Hommel said.

During the discussion, but before the more specs motion was proposed and passed, Hale said, "If you let me put six inches (of base stone for the foundation), I guarantee it'll last 15 years."

He also suggested as an option that six inches of base stone be put down soon, when the weather becomes warmer and less rainy, and then, if necessary, left alone for a year while the town government saves up money for the more expensive work to be completed. Council members rejected that idea.

Parrottsville Planning Commission Chairman Raymond Robinson said, "I agree with Tim (Kearns, town maintenance director), ... there's no consistency on the bids" the city received in its first round of asking for bids, because the town's request was not specific enough on what work the town wants down on the two roads.

Hale also said that, for budgetary purposes to help the town, he could accept payment for about two-thirds of the amount his company will charge for the repaving, and can "carry the other third for 60 days," so that it is not due until after the next fiscal year begins, on July 1.

That would allow the town government to allocate the funds needed for repaving from two different fiscal year budgets.

Hale also noted, "You can never replace the base stone once you put the asphalt down over it."

After he said that, Mayor Hommel said, "Let's rebid."

In other news, the Council approved, on first reading, a flood zone ordinance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for Parrottsville.

The Parrottsville Planning Commission met half an hour before the City Council meeting.

They discussed the FEMA flood zone ordinance.

City Attorney Jeff Greene said he changed the wording on the town's application for the insurance coverage so that it complies with Parrottsville's town charter.

He also said, "We (the Town of Parrottsville) won't take on any more responsibility as far as the city is concerned" once the flood zone ordinance takes place.

In another matter, the planning commissioners said they were still awaiting word from the Parrottsville Ruritan Club to see if they will donate 1.5 acres of land behind the Rural Medical Services clinic on Mockingbird Avenue to the town for a recreational area. The land is located next to the town's ballpark.

"We're still waiting for a decision," the mayor said.

Attorney Greene said the Ruritan Club could retain the right of reversion on the property if they donate it to the town.

He explained that by doing that, the Club would be guaranteed the town will use that area exclusively for a park. If the town decided in future years to replace the park with something else, Ruritan Club "heirs" could take their land back at that time.

"It's a win for both sides that way," Mayor Hommel said.

In another matter, Chairman Robinson asked planning commissioners to consider making part of the town an official historic district, in order to preserve some of the town's older structures.

"There are at least four houses over 100 years old" on Highway 321 as it passes through the center of town, Robinson pointed out.