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Council backs higher bid for Orpman Boulevard extension after vetting concerns about low bidder
Summary
After staff vetting raised concerns about the low bidder's wastewater experience and incomplete subcontractor references, the Seward City Council supported awarding the Orpman Boulevard extension contract to MB Collins Contracting at $1,855,911.88 instead of the low bidder.
City staff recommended awarding the Orpman Boulevard extension contract to MB Collins Contracting Company Inc. for $1,855,911.88 after an evaluation raised concerns about the apparent low bidder's experience and documentation.
Staff said the apparent low bid, submitted by NLC LLC at $1,790,915, lacked verifiable wastewater project references and did not provide timely subcontractor reference information that the city requested as part of its bid evaluation. "One thing that was of note to us was the 5 projects were provided in the last 5 years... there was no wastewater work at all in any of those 5 projects," a staff member said, describing the vetting process.
Greg, who represented NLC during the meeting, asked the council for an opportunity to address concerns and emphasized his firm's past paving work and references. He said NLC had provided references and recommended projects; staff replied that the city requested follow-up documentation for wastewater and subcontracts that was not provided in the time frame given.
City staff said the Orpman Boulevard extension is time-sensitive and tied to other infrastructure and grant-funded projects, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and state EOP funding, and that the city must ensure the contractor can meet schedules and technical requirements. "Knowing that this project is very time sensitive and it's an extremely large project for us with CDBG grant funding, EOP state funding, and the timeliness of the project... We needed to guarantee and vet all of the bidders," a staff member said.
After discussing the vetting, the council moved to approve awarding the contract to MB Collins as recommended by staff. The council indicated the recommendation reflected engineering review and reference checks; staff said they would be prepared to discuss details further if council wished to hear more.
Representatives of both firms were present for the discussion and members of the public asked clarifying questions about the vetting criteria and the basis for preferring the higher bid. The council did not dispute staff's assessment during the meeting and moved to approve the award in order to keep related projects on schedule.
