Asphalt Bids Questioned In Warsaw
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
When is a bid on a public works project a bid?
That's the question Warsaw City Attorney Mike Valentine is going to have to answer in wake of the events at Friday's Board of Works meeting.
Phend & Brown submitted a bid with a "de-escalation clause," where the city would benefit from any price reduction the contractor received from their asphalt supplier. Niblock had submitted a firm bid of $117.50 per ton.
Phend & Brown recently acquired a guarantee from their supplier that if the contractor received the city bid, the maximum charge for asphalt would be $117.28 per ton, and wanted to use that guarantee to execute their de-escalation clause, to which Niblock objected, saying Phend & Brown was trying to revise their bid unfairly after submission.
"My opinion is that we live with bids as submitted," Valentine said. "I don't want to see us getting into some kind of litigation over the bid."
Mayor Ernest Wiggins said he wants to save the city as much money as possible, but is unsure of whether the late submission of Phend & Brown's guarantee is prudent.
"I have a problem using this information after the bids are received," he said.
The board directed Valentine to investigate the matter and report back. The awarding of the bid was postponed to the Jan. 15 board meeting for Valentine to complete his inquiry.
In other business, the board approved the following contracts for service:
• Mike Valentine - for legal services in 1999 at $125 per hour.
• Daniel Harstine - for hazardous materials response team coordinator for 1999 at $2,000 for the year.
• Warsaw Community Development Corp. - for the provision of services designed to promote and recruit downtown businesses in 1999 for $12,000.
• Greg Burgher - for providing janitorial service at the Sewer Collection/ Engineering Building in 1999 for $7,200.
• Lawrence Clifford - serving as hearing officer for the Department of Code Enforcement in 1999 for $7,800. [[In-content Ad]]
When is a bid on a public works project a bid?
That's the question Warsaw City Attorney Mike Valentine is going to have to answer in wake of the events at Friday's Board of Works meeting.
Phend & Brown submitted a bid with a "de-escalation clause," where the city would benefit from any price reduction the contractor received from their asphalt supplier. Niblock had submitted a firm bid of $117.50 per ton.
Phend & Brown recently acquired a guarantee from their supplier that if the contractor received the city bid, the maximum charge for asphalt would be $117.28 per ton, and wanted to use that guarantee to execute their de-escalation clause, to which Niblock objected, saying Phend & Brown was trying to revise their bid unfairly after submission.
"My opinion is that we live with bids as submitted," Valentine said. "I don't want to see us getting into some kind of litigation over the bid."
Mayor Ernest Wiggins said he wants to save the city as much money as possible, but is unsure of whether the late submission of Phend & Brown's guarantee is prudent.
"I have a problem using this information after the bids are received," he said.
The board directed Valentine to investigate the matter and report back. The awarding of the bid was postponed to the Jan. 15 board meeting for Valentine to complete his inquiry.
In other business, the board approved the following contracts for service:
• Mike Valentine - for legal services in 1999 at $125 per hour.
• Daniel Harstine - for hazardous materials response team coordinator for 1999 at $2,000 for the year.
• Warsaw Community Development Corp. - for the provision of services designed to promote and recruit downtown businesses in 1999 for $12,000.
• Greg Burgher - for providing janitorial service at the Sewer Collection/ Engineering Building in 1999 for $7,200.
• Lawrence Clifford - serving as hearing officer for the Department of Code Enforcement in 1999 for $7,800. [[In-content Ad]]