CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield County Commissioners on Tuesday opened bids for completion of an infirmary unit project at the Clearfield County Jail.
In October, the commissioners accepted a proposal from Vanguard for construction and installation of a pre-fabricated, modular infirmary unit with three isolation rooms at a cost of $197,792.
In November, the county received three bids for installation of electric, fire alarm and sprinkler systems, heavy doors, etc., with the lowest being $414,621. All bids were rejected due to inflated costs; the project was rebid.
On Tuesday, the commissioners opened four bids for general construction; three bids for plumbing; two bids for electric and one bid for fire protection. Each bid package consisted of two base bids.
The first base bid was for a fully-enclosed walkway that would link the infirmary unit to the existing jail. The second base bid was for a less-costly, partially-enclosed option that would likely include a rain roof, fencing, etc.
All project bids are listed in the table below, and will be forwarded to the county’s engineer for review.
| General | Company | Location | Base Bid 1 | Base Bid 2 |
| Greenland Construction | Clearfield | $271,000 | $179,000 | |
| Fred L. Burns Inc. | Shippenville | $285,500 | $160,000 | |
| Mid-State Construction | Altoona | $286,824 | $156,640 | |
| Caliber Contracting Services | Pittsburgh | $282,600 | $155,200 | |
| Plumbing | ||||
| Montgomery Bros. Plumbing & Heating | Altoona | $88,000 | $88,000 | |
| Greenland Construction | Clearfield | $31,000 | $29,000 | |
| Fred L. Burns Inc. | Shippenville | $23,500 | $27,500 | |
| Electric | ||||
| Westmoreland Electric Services | Tarrs | $59,500 | $57,500 | |
| Hallstrom-Clark Electric | DuBois | $64,500 | $59,000 | |
| Fire Protection | ||||
| Greenland Construction | Clearfield | $88,000 | $81,000 |
Once constructed, the infirmary unit will house any inmate who is infected with either the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) or other communicable disease(s). It will be a negative-pressure unit so that its air flow will be separate from the rest of the facility.
In late 2020, the commissioners used leftover CARES funds to cover eligible salaries, which in turn freed up funds in the county’s general fund budget for the infirmary project.
In other business, the commissioners:
- reported work is continuing on the county’s COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program (CHIRP) that will provide over $897,000 to eligible hotels, restaurants and bars, etc. The grant application will be completed later this week, and released Monday, March 15. More information will be available at that time. Click here for previous news coverage.
- approved a linkage agreement with CORE Psychiatric & Psychological Services.
- approved a purchase of service agreement with George Junior Republic.
- approved four new hires; one employee separation/retirement; one employee transfer; and one employee leave.
- approved the minutes from the Feb. 23 board meeting as presented by the chief clerk.
- approved the bills as presented by the Controller’s office.