Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Prattville council rejects bids for North Highland Park after estimates double
Summary
The City Council adopted a consent resolution rejecting all bids for North Highland Park after city engineers said bids came in about twice the estimate; city staff said $650,000 remained in the project budget and about $300,000 had already been spent.
The Prattville City Council on July (date not specified) adopted a consent resolution rejecting all bids for the North Highland Park improvements after the lowest bids came in roughly twice the project estimate.
Krebs Engineering project manager Ray Womack told the council the bids received last week were “about twice what our estimate was,” and recommended the city reject them and return to the original tiered design. “We recommended to Kelly to go back to a tiered design on the lower court system,” Womack said, explaining that a tiered approach would reduce wall height and that breaking the work into multiple bid packages could attract smaller contractors.
The rejection of bids was included as Resolution Number 16 on the meeting’s consent agenda, which the council adopted without separate roll-call on that item. The consent agenda also included multiple nuisance abatement and surplus-property items.
Daniel Oakley, the city finance staff member who presented the budget status, said the council had approximately $650,000 budgeted for the biddable portion of the North Highland Park project and that about $300,000 had already been spent on prior phases. Oakley said the city earlier used American Rescue Plan Act funds on related work and planned to use lodging fee dollars to fill remaining gaps: “So we had $650,000 planned for the remaining portion of this project. And that doesn't include the 300,000 or so that we've already spent on it.”
Community members who spoke during public comment were sharply divided over the rejection. Dennis Mullins, who identified himself as a North Highland Park resident, said he attended the bid opening and reported two sealed bids from vetted contractors; he urged the council to accept one of the bids rather than reject them. “One of these bids ought to be accepted tonight,” Mullins said, adding that rejecting legitimate bidders could discourage contractors from returning to bid in Prattville.
Council members and staff described options for redesign or packaging to reduce cost and said the $650,000 budget remains available if the council chooses to rebid after design changes. Councilor Jackson asked whether funds from other buckets could be reallocated; Oakley said the council has discretion to shift funding among the city’s four 1¢ sales-tax “buckets” but noted policy choices and prior earmarks for those funds.
The council did not take an immediate separate vote on a rebid plan; instead, the body approved the consent agenda, which included the formal rejection of bids. Staff said they would return with revised plans or bid packaging options and cost estimates.
Votes at a glance: Resolution Number 16 (reject all bids for North Highland Park improvements) — Adopted as part of the consent agenda. (The consent agenda was adopted by voice/hand-raise vote; no separate recorded roll-call tally for this item was provided in the meeting transcript.)
The council did not set a rebid schedule at the meeting; staff indicated a tiered design and multiple bid packages are options they will pursue before returning to council.
