Shopping local: board awards bid to Colacurcio

By Jack Kintner

The Blaine school board, in a special noon meeting last Friday, November 30, chose Blaine’s Colacurcio Brothers Construction Company over seven other bidders for the first phase of construction mandated last May when voters approved a $19.7 million bond issue. The winning bid was for $2,254,775 to remodel and construct middle and high school classrooms.

The brief noon meeting began with an appeal by Bellingham attorney Frank Chmelik on behalf of Wellman & Zuck Construction of Bellingham, whose bid had been disallowed. Brian Wellman, who attended the meeting with Chmelik, had omitted the names of subcontractors he intended to work with as required by state law. Chmelik characterized the omission as “minor” and pointed out that Wellman’s bid was $100,000 less than Colacurcio’s.

The board declined to waive the rule, however, after checking with school district attorney Dick Prencke. “We awarded the contract to the lowest bidder who followed the rules,” said board member Betty Nunamaker.

“We’re thrilled to get the work,” said Dan Colacurcio, “especially since it’s a local job.” Colacurcio is also constructing fire stations on Orcas Island and in Marysville, and is prime contractor on the new $5.5 million Church of God in Bellingham. The Blaine school project will be coordinated by Mike Ten Kley, Colacurcio said.
.

Back to Top