Utility board rejects Starlight Road bids, will rebid after procurement-advertising issue

At its July 22 meeting, the Park County Water, Sewer and Utility Board voted to deny all bids for the Starlight Road project and to rebid the work with a proposed bid opening on Aug. 11. The board acted after staff said the original bid packet lacked a required advertisement on the GoBDE procurement site, a step linked to grant and review requirements.

Evan White, engineer with Midtown Engineering, told the board that the project packet must be submitted to Ernst & Young and to TDEC for review and that one compliance criterion was a GoBDE advertisement. White said the board already had placed an advertisement in the local paper and on GoBDE to address the shortfall. "One of them is a GoBDE advertisement…What we would need tonight from the board is a motion to deny all bids and to rebid it," White said.

Board members moved and seconded a motion to reject the bids and rebid; after the vocal vote — "All in favor, say aye" — the chair declared the motion carried. The meeting record does not identify the motion mover or seconder by name. The board set Aug. 11 as the tentative date to reopen bids so the submission package can meet the stated review and compliance requirements.

Why it matters: board staff said the advertisement and the packet-review steps are required for the project to meet outside-review criteria (Ernst & Young and TDEC). Denying the bids delays the project procurement timeline but, according to staff, is intended to preserve eligibility for the external review process.

Next steps: staff will republish the solicitation to meet GoBDE and local-advertising requirements and return bids on the Aug. 11 opening date for board review. No contract awards or vendor names were recorded in the meeting minutes before the rebid decision.