CHICKASHA — Washita Construction and Renovation recently was awarded a $46,996 contract to demolish 11 dilapidated and abandoned structures at Lake Chickasha.
The experienced local company was the second-lowest of four bidders for the work.
The lowest bidder did not sign a required affidavit, did not complete the bid proposal form, and submitted an additional unsigned bid, professional engineer R. Scott Vaughn of Chisholm Trail Consulting in Duncan informed Chickasha Parks and Recreation Director Spencer Winzenried. The next lowest bid was almost $2,900 higher than Washita’s, and the fourth bid was 3.3 times higher, at $155,104.
Washita Construction and Renovation was the only company “that submitted a complete bid proposal,” Vaughn related. In addition, the 25-year-old company “has successfully completed many projects of a similar nature,” Vaughn noted. For example, the latest batch of bills paid by the Chickasha City Council included $5,800 to Washita Construction for a demolition project at 3506 Hill Street.
The Lake Chickasha project will entail demolishing and disposing of decrepit trailers, cabins, and at least one shed, along with fencing, walls and other items at 11 abandoned sites on city-owned property at the reservoir.
The 1,400-acre lake is located northwest of Verden in Caddo County. It was created in 1958 to provide an alternate source of water, but today its purpose is recreation, said Shae Mortimer, the city’s marketing and engagement director. Chickasha draws its drinking water from Fort Cobb Reservoir in west-central Caddo County.