Utilities committee holds $11.7 million constructed‑wetlands contract after questions about excluded bids

The Atlanta City Utilities Committee on Oct. 14 held an amended resolution to award a constructed‑wetlands contract after public comment and council members questioned why two of the five bids were not included in the department recommendation.

The matter involved an amended resolution authorizing an agreement for the Valley of Holes constructed wetlands project with a joint venture that the paper lists as InterContinental Services Corporation and Rockdale Pipeline Incorporated for an amount not to exceed $11,717,733.00. Council members and a speaker raised concerns that the bid evaluation packet provided to the committee listed only three bidders although five bids were received.

Why it matters: committee members said the omission left bidders and the public without a clear record of how DOP (Department of Procurement) reviewed bid packages. A public commenter who identified himself as a construction company executive specifically urged the committee to reject the resolution and direct watershed staff to select “the lowest…