City engineers recommended rejecting all bids for a planned animal‑shelter improvements project after the low bids came in well above the available budget. Council agreed and authorized staff to rebid the project with a narrowed scope that prioritizes sanitary and intake improvements; the motion passed unanimously.

City Engineer Will Watchel told council eight bids were received for the shelter upgrade work on Sept. 11, for a package that originally included two 3,000‑square‑foot covered kennel sheds and associated concrete, plus three additive alternates. Bids ranged from about $913,000 to $2.7 million. The apparent low bidder later withdrew because it omitted roughly $900,000 of required pricing.

Following review by the city’s engineering firm and the project architect, staff concluded the remaining bids exceeded the $650,000 budgeted for the project, which Watchel said is funded from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation and must be expended by the federal deadline. Watchel recommended rejecting all bids and rebidding with a focus on the additive alternates: replacing interior chain‑link pen walls with cinder block walls to reduce disease transmission, adding a roughly 1,200‑square‑foot intake and isolation area, and applying an easily‑cleaned antimicrobial wall coating instead of installing synthetic turf.

The Bridal Shelter Advisory Board reviewed the bid results and supported the rebid recommendation, Watchel said. Council members asked whether the project could be split into separate, smaller contracts; Watchel advised the city could structure alternates to get unit pricing while retaining economies of scale but recommended soliciting a new competitive round. A council motion to reject the bids and authorize rebidding carried 7‑0.

Staff said they will advertise the revised scope immediately and try to align alternates to fit the $650,000 ARPA allocation. The council noted the county could elect to participate in cost sharing under the existing shelter agreement but no county contribution was committed for the rebid scope.