After a second round of bidding, four general contractors are being vetted to undertake a $250,000 grant project to bring five flood-damaged houses in Columbia up to building code standards, town manager Rhett White reported June 21.

The five dwellings were damaged in Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 plus some previous storm, most in Hurricane Irene in August 2011.

McDavid Associates in Farmville, Columbia’s housing planners, is administering the program and White expects contracts to be signed in the second week of July.

In the first round of bidding, invitations were sent to 15 general contractors, but only one of them submitted a bid, White told the aldermen June 3.

State law requires a second solicitation of bids in cases where less than three bidders respond to the first round. If no additional bids are received in the second round, the town could award the contract to the lone first-round bidder.

Second round bidding invitations went to the 15 plus three more contractors, and four responded, White said.

In response to widespread complaints of sluggishness statewide in Matthew recovery activities, White commented, “By time you jump through the hoops, it is the bureaucracy of the federal program that contributes to the slow pace of moving forward.”

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