A last-minute withdrawal by the lowest bidder did not delay the county commissioners’ decision on selecting a company to demolish the Western Grocer Building Tuesday.

The bids by six construction companies were opened last week. Landwehr Construction Inc. (LCI) entered the lowest price at $143,594.25 for the project.

But the county administration found out the bid did not include expenses for a part of the project. The company notified the county Monday that it would withdraw the bid.

In a letter to Boarman Kroos Vogel (BKV) Group, which administered the bidding process for the county, LCI Vice President/Chief Financial Officer Michael G. Lohrman said, &uot;LCI had missed in its bid spreadsheet the hauling in of sand for the building.&uot;

With that expense, the bid would have been $199,594.24, according to Lohrman.

The county board discussed the issue and decided to forfeit the $12,500 bid bond submitted by LCI in accordance with a bidding rule.

In response to the withdrawal notice, the BKV Group recommended the next lowest bidder, David Spinler Construction Inc. of Austin, which entered a $197,111.90 bid price. The board unanimously approved it.

The winning bid price is still within the initial budget estimate by the BKV Group, according to the county administration.

The demolition will start as early as May 10 after Pearl Street next to the building is closed. The contract says the project will be completed by the end of August.