Kerr County rejects unopened bids for rainwater catchment at animal services after RFP contradictions

Kerr County commissioners on Monday voted to reject two unopened bids received for a rainwater catchment system at the Animal Services facility after staff reported the solicitation contained contradictory references to whether the rainwater system remained in scope.

County engineer Jonathan Letts explained that pages in the construction documents referred to the rainwater catchment work even though the component had been deleted from the contract package, creating conflicting guidance for bidders. Letts said prospective bidders called staff during the bid period seeking clarity, and he recommended rejecting the unopened bids rather than opening them and risking a protest because it would be unfair to bidders who followed one set of documents.

Letts said county staff discussed remedies with the county attorney and that options include issuing an addendum to clarify scope and a new due date, or rebidding the project; the engineer preferred issuing a corrective addendum where possible to avoid delaying the schedule unnecessarily. The court voted unanimously to reject the unopened bids and directed staff to correct the solicitation and proceed under county procurement rules.

The action was procedural: commissioners did not award a contract and directed staff to republish or issue an addendum so bidders have clear, consistent instructions for a reopened procurement process.