Albany County Approves $2,893,450 Plan to Rebuild Fairgrounds Grandstand

Albany County commissioners changed course on the fairgrounds grandstand project, authorizing a $2,893,450 maximum price under a new cooperative purchasing approach.

County Engineer Jake Schneider received authorization to pursue separate contracts for the rebuild after the board rejected the sole design-build proposal from Capital Builders of Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Schneider said that proposal lacked a required 5% bid bond and other requested information, creating concerns about completing the grandstand in time for next July’s Laramie Jubilee Days.

Under the revised strategy, the county will directly purchase bleachers through a cooperative purchasing agreement while seeking separate bids for other work, including underground electrical, water, and utility components. Schneider will oversee the schedule.

Schneider said he could not say definitively why the others declined to bid regarding the lack of competing proposals after several prospective bidders attended the pre-bid meeting.

Commissioner Thad Hoff questioned whether the county should postpone the project for a year instead of risking the demolition of the existing structure without replacements ready. Schneider countered that delaying the build by a year would require additional repairs to the existing structure.

The demolition contractor, Laramie-based Prairie Equipment LLC, was told by Schneider to hold off on starting until he felt certain the county had a feasible strategy to ensure the new grandstand could be used by July. In addition, the board endorsed an amendment to the firm’s demolition agreement that shields Prairie Equipment from liquidated damages if city permitting causes setbacks.

Commissioner Pete Gosar moved to approve the alternative purchasing approach with the $2,893,450 maximum price, which passed alongside a separate vote rejecting Capital Builders’ bid. Commissioners also finalized an agreement with Prairie Equipment with an initial cost of roughly $150,000 to handle asbestos removal and tear down the Thunderbird Lodge structure, which was referred to during the session as the Thunderbird soup kitchen initiative.

Fairgrounds Director Taylor Heggie shared during other proceedings that the inaugural animal donation program for the junior livestock sale supplied 11 animals and 2,169 pounds of meat to local groups, marking a $36,000 commitment from buyers. Commissioners awarded Evergreen Solutions LLC a $39,500 contract to conduct a county classification and compensation study covering about 73 job classifications.

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