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Contract award for district cleaning services tabled after bidder protests alleged law violations
Summary
A representative for Cleaning Services of Hudson Valley told the board the firm was the lowest responsible bidder; staff said bids must be responsive to specifications and the board agreed to table agenda item 11C for further review.
A public commenter alleged on May 13 that the district was poised to award its 2024'25/25'26 cleaning-and-summer-service contract to a higher bidder despite a lower bid from Cleaning Services of Hudson Valley, and cited state procurement law. The board agreed to table the agenda item until next week for review.
"New York General Municipal Law Section 103 requires that school boards award contracts to the lowest responsible bidder," said Herman Dominguez, who identified himself as vice president of Cleaning Services of Hudson Valley during public commentary. Dominguez read bid figures and urged the board to reject the business office's recommendation to award the contract to Apple Maintenance, the highest bidder in the set he described.
Dominguez told the board the district's bid results were: Cleaning Services of Hudson Valley $793,881.55; SJ Services $858,006.88; Apple Maintenance $895,010. He said Cleaning Services of Hudson Valley was the lowest responsible bidder and that awarding to the highest bidder would cost taxpayers more than $100,000 compared with his firm's price.
A district representative, Miss Espinal, responded that the district follows municipal procurement law and that awards must go to the "lowest responsible bidder," adding that responsiveness to bid specifications is a legal requirement and can affect whether a submission is considered responsive. Following that exchange board members asked to see the full bid documents and agreed to remove item 11C from the current consent agenda and table the award until the board receives complete bid materials.
Board members did not vote to award the contract at the May 13 meeting; the board sought the full bid packages before taking a final vote. The district did not provide an immediate explanation on the record for why staff had recommended Apple Maintenance when, according to the public commenter, Cleaning Services of Hudson Valley submitted the lowest price.
The board's decision to table 11C postpones any contract award until members can review bid responsiveness and documentation. The item will return to the agenda for a formal vote once members have received and examined the full bid submissions and staff's evaluation.
