Thurston County to authorize $391,600 increase to Marvin Road upgrade contract after bid quantity error

Thurston County Public Works asked the Board of County Commissioners to authorize a $391,600 increase to a previously awarded construction contract for the Marvin Road Upgrade Phase 1 project after managers discovered a unit-measurement error in the bid documents.

"The bid proposal that the bidders bid on contained an error," County Engineer Matt Osmond told commissioners. Two unit bid items for concrete work were listed in square feet but should have been square yards. Public Works recalculated bids using the corrected units and said the order of bidders did not change. The department asked the board for authority to increase the contract amount by $391,600, bringing the total contract to $6,252,460; the requested overage exceeds the contract amendment authority the board had previously delegated.

Public Works said the increased cost can be covered by traffic impact fees and existing project budget authority; the funding source will not be the county general fund. Directors told the board they have added additional quality-control checks to procurement documents to prevent similar errors in the future.

Commissioners discussed whether the item should remain a department item because of the dollar amount. Staff and commissioners stressed that despite the error, the department intends to complete the project and that the correction did not change the winning bidder. The board did not record a formal roll-call vote in the agenda-setting meeting; staff said they will return with the required contract amendment for formal action at the business meeting.