Council awards $1.41 million contract for green‑sand arsenic filtration at Well 8; single bid prompts questions

The City Council on Sept. 2 awarded a contract to LaPrest (a division of Water Remediation Technologies LLC) to supply green‑sand filtration equipment for arsenic treatment at Well 8 for the low bid of $1,408,672.

Councilmember Rupaul said he pulled the item for discussion to request an itemized cost breakdown; he noted the original bid lacked line‑item detail and observed the vendor later supplied a more detailed quote in the packet. Rupaul also flagged one line in the vendor’s itemization that listed the bidder’s bond cost as part of the equipment price and questioned whether the city should pay a surety bond cost that the vendor commonly pays as a business expense. He said single‑bid procurements make diligence and comparative review more difficult.

City staff and the city manager responded that the city had solicited bids but received a single responsive bid, which is not uncommon for specialized water‑treatment equipment. Staff said they had requested further detail and would continue to seek transparency, while noting that vendors sometimes withhold proprietary design detail. The council approved the contract by roll call, 4‑0.

Rupaul asked staff to continue to seek comparables and to press vendors for clearer itemizations on future procurements; the city manager said staff would provide as much detail as possible while protecting legitimate proprietary information.