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Pratt County staff to seek negotiated procurement after Sawyer RFP bids come in higher than expected
Summary
County staff reported that an RFP covering three segments returned bids significantly above estimates, with tariffs and long construction timelines cited as main causes; staff recommended pursuing negotiated procurement and exploring crossing fiscal years for financing.
Pratt County staff reported that the request for proposals (RFP) to build three segments — Hardner, Sawyer and Sharon — returned bids well above county expectations, and recommended moving to negotiated procurement to try to lower costs.
Heather (county staff) told commissioners that the RFP submitted covered all three segments and included prices by segment but “came in higher than expected.” She said bidders included a contingency tied to tariffs — “about 20, quite frankly, 25% increase” — and that that contingency materially increased the submitted prices. Heather said the construction timeline in the bid also stretched across multiple fiscal years, which leaves open additional financing options if the county staggers work by fiscal year.
Why it matters: the county expected lower per-segment pricing and now faces a choice between accepting the higher bids, negotiating with the apparent low bidder for revised pricing and schedules, or rebidding. Staff said they have been in contact with the Mississippi Utility Organization and Ursula Hoffman while reviewing the responses.
Details from the discussion included that the RFP bidder proposed completing Hardner first, then Sawyer, then Sharon; that the bid included a large tariff contingency (described by staff as roughly a 20–25% allowance); and that staff intended to spend a few more days negotiating before returning to the commissioners with recommended next steps. Heather said, “No one should be forlorn at this point, but those solutions are far into the future at this moment,” and recommended starting with negotiated procurement rather than immediate award.
Commissioners asked procedural questions and staff said they would continue email updates with the Sawyer city clerk and Representative Hoffman and return to the board once negotiations had progressed.
Ending: Staff will continue negotiations and report back to the commissioners; no formal award or binding decision was made at this meeting.
