NEW ULM — Brown County Commissioners unanimously approved implementing bidVAULT electronic bidding for highway projects Tuesday.

Brown County Highway Engineer Andrew Lang said many area counties, cities and consultants use some form of electronic bidding used by contractors for road and highway projects.

He said bidVAULT is an electronic bidding platform integrated with OneOffice construction administration software.

“The project bidding process would remain the same for the highway department until the actual opening of bids,” said Lang. “The highway department would register with Surety 200 and SuretyWave to accept electronic bid bonds. There are no fees to the county to register.”

He said there are two fee options for bidVAULT bidding. First, a project owner pays a per contract fee based on the number of items in the contract and the bidder does not pay to bid. Second, the bidder pays $35 per bid and project owner does not pay to post the bid.

Lang said the Brown County Highway Department recommends the second option of the bidder paying a per bid fee.

He said project documents are free to download with the current Brown County fee schedule. County electronic bidding will likely become effective when road surfacing project bids are let in late February.

Approval came on a motion by Commissioner Tony Berg, seconded by Scott Windschitl.