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Council rejects low bids from Sequel Contractors, awards two street projects to second bidders
Summary
After a formal bid protest from Sequel Contractors, the council declared Sequel non-responsible for two commercial street projects and awarded contracts to Hardy & Harper and Toro Enterprises; Sequel protested the findings and said it will seek further review.
The Santa Fe Springs City Council on Monday rejected apparent low bids from Sequel Contractors for two separate commercial-street projects and awarded contracts to the second apparent low bidders after staff found Sequel did not meet responsibility standards under state contracting rules.
City staff recommended declaring Sequel Contractors "non-responsible" for the Commercial Street improvements for Springdale Avenue, Wakeman Street and John Street and for Stage Road and Naceli Road improvements, citing concerns summarized in staff reports and citing California Public Contract Code Section 1103. The council voted to accept staff recommendations and award the projects to Hardy & Harper Inc. for the Springdale/Wakeman/John Street project and to Toro Enterprises Inc. for the Stage Road project.
Staff recommendations and bidders' response
Mike Mueller of Sequel Contractors told the council that Sequel is "the lowest responsible, responsive bidder" and protested the city's change in recommendation after a May 20 staff report that had previously recommended awarding the work to Sequel. "Sequel is a responsible bidder," Mueller said and urged the council to review the firm's protest letters and the city's prior communications.
Staff presentation by the city manager (and accompanying agenda report) recommended rejecting Sequel's apparent low bids and awarding the contracts to the next lowest bidders. For the Springdale/Wakeman/John Street project staff reported an apparent low bid from Sequel of about $1,494,165 and recommended awarding the contract to Hardy & Harper Inc. in the amount of $1,605,000 and appropriating $1,095,000 from the Measure SFS fund with a $365,000 distribution to account 220106 (as described in the staff report). For the Stage Road and Naceli Road project staff said the apparent low bid from Sequel was $1,136,100 and recommended awarding the contract to Toro Enterprises Inc. for $1,219,264.50.
Council action and protest notice
Council members moved and approved both contract awards after staff presentations; the record shows the motions passed with unanimous "aye" votes. Sequel's representative said the company may seek CEQA review and requested the two items be removed from the agenda pending further discussion. The council did not delay the awards at the meeting.
What this means now
Sequel indicated it would pursue its formal protest, and staff established the basis for the non-responsibility determinations on the record, referencing California Public Contract Code standards. The council's actions authorized the city manager to execute agreements with the awarded contractors and to appropriate the cited Measure SFS funding. Council did not record any amendments to the staff recommendation during the votes.
