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Fairhope seeks TAP funding awards for sidewalks as rising material costs force procurement changes
Summary
Staff asked the council to award TAP-funded sidewalk construction bids under a $1 million budget and discussed recurring procurement issues including contractor licensing, tariff-driven price increases and potential language changes to allow staff to approve quotes between meetings.
City staff asked the council at the work session to approve awarding bids for two Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) sidewalk projects and briefed the council on procurement challenges that are delaying execution of some construction contracts.
Parks and public-works staff said they recommended awarding the TAP contract for new sidewalks on Blue Island and Fairwood Boulevard to Chris Brewer Contracting. The projects are 80/20 TAP grants (20% local match, 80% reimbursable), and staff reported the combined budget is $1 million and current low bids left approximately $185,000 under budget.
"Both of these are an 80 20, TAP grant, meaning that 20% of the cost is on us and 80% is reimbursable through, the transportation alternative program," a staff member explained. Bidders supplied competitive prices, and staff said the low-bid differential between the first and second bidder was only $378.35.
At the same time staff warned council that recent market volatility — particularly metal prices and tariff uncertainty — has led some line items to exceed earlier estimates. Staff described a practice where individual line-items have ballooned above a 10% threshold, prompting requests for new quotes on those items even though the aggregate contract remains under the statutory threshold that would require full rebidding.
Council and staff discussed adding language to the upcoming resolution so the mayor or treasurer could authorize awarding quotes that comply with procurement law between council meetings, preventing multi-week delays when prices change. "You could build it into some of your bids," the mayor said, asking whether an authorization could be added to the resolution to allow staff to act if quotes arrive before the next meeting and procurement law is satisfied.
The work session also addressed a separate recreation bid for shade structures. Shade America — the apparent low bidder — lacked a required Alabama general contractor license for work over $100,000 and could not obtain an opinion from the contractor board or a reciprocal license within the extension period. Staff recommended rescinding Shade America’s award and moving to Great Southern Recreation, which was roughly $50,000 higher but still within budget.
Why it matters: TAP-funded sidewalks are a multi-year, reimbursable transportation improvement that the city says has been under discussion since 2023. Procurement delays and line-item price increases could shift project timing and require council authorization of additional quotes or alternate vendors.
No final awards were recorded at the work session; staff said the sidewalk items would be on the council agenda for formal action with recommended award language and potential resolution amendments to clarify delegation authority for procurement between meetings.
