Due to a small mathematical mixup, Park County commissioners recently had to reverse themselves and correct a bid award for a scrap metal contract. 

In September, commissioners accepted a bid from Billings-based Pacific Steel and Recycling, which offered to pay $145 per net ton of scrap metal collected at the county’s landfills. At an early October board meeting, however, the commission reversed course and instead accepted a $131 per net ton offer from Wyoming Steel Services of Powell.

The issue, Park County Engineer Brian Edwards told commissioners, was that the initial calculation of a preference awarded to local contractors was slightly off. 

When the calculation was first done, Edwards added a 10% preference to the bid from Wyoming Steel Services — 5% by state statute for companies in Wyoming, and another 5% for being in Park County due to a county rule. The Powell firm’s bid came out less than a dollar below Pacific Steel and Recycling. 

However, Edwards later reexamined the process to check if it was OK to use the state and local preference to determine a high bid instead of a low bid (he found that the preference is allowed but not required by the state as it is on a low bid). During that review, the engineer said they realized they had calculated the 10% from the wrong starting point: The 10% should have been deducted from Pacific Steel and Recycling’s bid rather than being added to Wyoming Steel’s. When figured that way, Wyoming Steel’s bid was within 10% of the Billings company’s, meaning that under the local preferences, the Powell company had the best bid.

“It’s an unusual confusion that we’re pennies different,” Edwards said.

He added that commissioners that knew Pacific Steel understood and that it will still be the ultimate receiver of the scrap metal from Wyoming Steel. 

Though the county will receive less money per ton than initially expected, Commissioner Lloyd Thiel said the unanimous approval of Wyoming Steel’s bid was still a positive. 

“In this way it is fitting to use both preferences and use local people,” Thiel said.