IRON MOUNTAIN — A Quinnesec company’s bid to build the Pewabic Hill mountain bike trail system was accepted Monday by Iron Mountain City Council, resolving a dilemma from earlier this year over who should do the grant-aided work.

The proposal of $224,662 from Iron Goat Trail Construction LLC is well within the budget and Dickinson Trail Network is satisfied with the company’s trail building experience, City Manager Jordan Stanchina said.

“The low bid from Iron Goat wouldn’t require any extra funding from the city or fundraising by DTN,” Stanchina added.

The only competing bid came from a big name in trail building — $379,118 from Rock Solid Trail Contracting LLC based out of Copper Harbor. Rock Solid, which has a corporate office in Bentonville, Ark., has built thousands of miles of trails across the U.S.

A Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund grant of $183,200 will help build 6 miles of public trails on city property east of Park Avenue at East B Street, matched by $64,000 from the non-profit DTN. A match of about $15,000 will come from the city for a parking lot.

Bids were first opened Jan. 2, but those proposals came from general contractors, including a low offer of $262,175 from FA industrial Services Inc. of Iron River. After some research, and at the request of DTN President Chad Susott, the city council Feb. 5 decided to reject all bids.

A revised bid package from Coleman Engineering Co. of Iron Mountain required a foreman with at least five years of experience building mountain bike trails. Among other things, it stipulated that the contractor must have built at least 10 miles of bike trails in the past.

Both bidders met the updated bid specifications and the selection of Iron Goat remains subject to approval by the DNR, Stanchina said.

Steven Veihl, a DTN board member, is listed online as the agent for Iron Goat.

According to Susott, trail specialists avoided the first round of bidding in part because of a strict 60-day deadline for completion, which was not realistic. In approving new bid specifications, the city extended the completion date to Nov. 15, 2025.

The planned Pewabic Hill trail will link to DTN’s Millie Hill Trailhead, a 5-mile system just west of Park Avenue.

Susott attended Monday’s council meeting and said DTN supported the bid award to Iron Goat.

Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-3500 ext. 226 or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.