Lake Placid CRA approves Interlake Streetscape contract to TWQ LLC after bid-count dispute

The Lake Placid Community Redevelopment Agency voted to approve awarding the full scope of the Interlake Streetscape project (RFP LP2025-03) to TWQ LLC and authorized the town administrator to proceed with contract negotiation and execution in accordance with town procurement policy.

Board members said the choice follows a review of multiple bids and a detailed, sometimes contentious, reconciliation of the bids’ square footage and itemized line items. The vote authorizes the town administrator to finalize terms, subject to applicable procurement rules and any council-level approvals required by the town’s policy.

Why it matters: The Interlake Streetscape project is part of the CRA’s downtown revitalization work and uses CRA funds (tax-increment financing) to pay for streetscape elements including brick pavers, plantings and irrigation. The board repeatedly returned to two practical questions: whether the bids matched the plans’ paver quantities and whether a single contractor should install irrigation and plantings or whether a specialist irrigation contractor should be retained separately.

Board discussion focused first on competing bid math and paver quantities. One board member who reviewed the printed plans during the meeting said the documents support roughly 1,068 square feet of pavers based on the sheets in the packet. By contrast, TWQ’s bid included a paver quantity of 812 square feet on its worksheet. Board members and staff repeatedly noted a difference of about 156 square feet between the counts on the documents they were using and some vendor figures; staff said that discrepancy could produce a significant dollar swing in final cost if the wrong quantity were used for contracting or change orders.

The board also debated irrigation responsibility. One group on the dais argued that assigning the full package —pavers, planting and irrigation—to a single contractor reduces warranty friction and finger-pointing if plants fail; others proposed hiring a local irrigation specialist (identified in the packet as “DC”) for irrigation only and letting TWQ or another contractor handle the rest. The packet included an irrigation line of about $3,460 for DC; board members said that removing or reducing that amount as work already completed would lower overall cost.

Board members and staff described a series of vendor adjustments communicated during the meeting: TWQ indicated it could deduct $1,000 because crews (inmates) had already removed plants and mulch, and staff said other adjustments to prep-line items could reduce TWQ’s full-package figure, which appeared in the packet at roughly $43,131. Staff reported that after the proposed deductions TWQ’s package could be adjusted to a figure “within” the board’s $40,000 target; during discussion a staff speaker said an adjusted total of about $39,671 was within the budget target. Board members repeatedly said the contract should be based on the plans (24x36 sheets) and the paver quantities on those plans, not on an inconsistent per-bidder count.

The board debated procedure and authority. A motion in the published agenda asked the CRA board to approve awarding the RFP to TWQ LLC and to authorize the town administrator to negotiate and sign a contract consistent with procurement policy. Several board members said Charlotte and town staff had authority to finalize the procurement consistent with the town’s rules; others cautioned about whether detailed negotiation with bidders without additional public notice could be legally or ethically problematic. One board member said on the record they believed the board’s action raised legal or notice concerns and recorded a no vote.

The board moved and seconded the recommendation in the agenda (option 2 in the packet) to award RFP LP2025-03 (Interlake Streetscape project) to TWQ LLC and to authorize the town administrator to proceed with contract negotiation and execution in accordance with town procurement policies. The motion carried and the board instructed staff to reconcile square-foot counts on the official plan sheets, to confirm any negotiated deductions in writing, and to return to the board or council if staff could not complete the negotiation within procurement rules.

The meeting record shows one member objected to the process and stated they were voting no because of concerns about notice and legality; staff recorded the motion’s passage and noted that any contract above threshold levels would follow the town’s required approvals.

Next steps and implementation notes: Staff said they will confirm the final paver quantity from the 24x36 plan sheets, secure written confirmation from TWQ of any price adjustments (including the $1,000 reduction referenced at the meeting), and proceed with contract negotiation. Staff and the board emphasized that the contract price will be based on the plan quantities and scope, not a bidder’s internal breakout unless that breakout is confirmed and agreed.

Ending: The CRA board’s authorization allows the town administrator to finalize terms; depending on the negotiated total and procurement thresholds the agreement may still require subsequent council review and formal contract execution per the town’s procurement policy.