Forest Park — The Forest Park Mayor and Council voted Oct. 20 to award on-call plumbing repairs and maintenance contracts to B & W Mechanical Contractors Inc. and J2 Connect Inc., following a request-for-proposal process.

Procurement staff reported four proposals were received under RFP 2025RFP-018 and that an evaluation committee reviewed technical and cost submissions to select the two highest-scoring firms. Procurement noted these on-call contracts are designed to supplement in-house building-maintenance work when licensed plumbers are required to meet code-compliant repairs.

Public Works Director Matthews told the council the contracts will be used for work that exceeds the capacity of in-house staff; the department intends to continue handling routine maintenance internally and to encourage building-maintenance staff to pursue plumbing licensure where appropriate.

Several council members asked for clarity about the procurement evaluation process and which staff serve on the evaluation committee. Councilwoman Wells and others expressed concern about perceived conflicts of interest when internal staff participate in evaluation panels but were told it is a standard municipal practice to include directors or qualified staff familiar with the technical requirements on an evaluation committee. Procurement staff said evaluators follow a written scoring rubric; the procurement office packages the evaluations and presents the recommended firms to the city manager and the council for final approval.

After discussion, the council approved awards to B & W Mechanical Contractors Inc. and J2 Connect Inc. on a recorded unanimous vote.

Votes at a glance

- Award on-call plumbing repairs and maintenance contracts to B & W Mechanical Contractors Inc. and J2 Connect Inc. (RFP 2025RFP-018): Approved unanimously (Council members James, Gunn, Gutierrez, Akins Wells, Mears: yes).