In a pleasant surprise, some of the City of Powell’s routine road maintenance will actually cost less than it did last year.

At a Monday night meeting, the Powell City Council approved a $365,800 contract with a Utah-based company that will apply an emulsified asphalt slurry seal to streets on the city’s northwest side. The bid came in $34,000 below budget, as the price per square yard of slurry dropped 5% from 2025 and is down 2% from the rate charged in 2024. 

The savings caught the city council and staff off-guard, in a good way.

“With oil prices up so much, I’m surprised,” said Mayor John Wetzel.

In a Tuesday interview, City Streets Superintendent Andy Metzler similarly described himself as “very surprised” but “very happy” with the lower price. Whatever the reason for the drop, “we’ll take it,” Metzler said.

Asphalt Preservation, LLC of West Haven, Utah, priced the pavement-preserving slurry and its labor at $2.36 per square yard, beating a $2.52 price submitted by Morgan Pavement Maintenance, Inc. of Clearfield, Utah. With the city requesting 155,000 square yards of the material, Asphalt Preservation’s bid came in roughly $25,000 cheaper.

“I guess they want to win,” City Administrator Zack Thorington mused at Monday’s meeting.

Morgan Pavement Maintenance submitted the low bid last year, while Asphalt Preservation was the city’s winner two years ago.

“They’ve been hopping each other,” Thorington said, “but this is why we bid.”

The city applies the slurry mixture to its streets about every eight years to preserve the underlying pavement from moisture and routine wear and tear. The streets up for sealing this year generally include everything west of Division Street and north of Avenue E; Metzler said Avenue E will be included, but Tower Boulevard and Seventh Street will not.

Asphalt Preservation plans to start its work around the end of July, he said, but the exact timeline hinges on the weather.