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Aldermen debate one-year extension for job order contracting vendor; some call for rebid
Summary
City staff asked the Committee of the Whole to extend a job-order-contracting (JOC) vendor agreement for one year; several aldermen requested the item be revisited or rebid, and at least one alderman said he would vote against the extension and put it on unfinished business.
City staff asked the Committee of the Whole on Dec. 17 to approve a one-year extension with F. H. Passion, SS Nielsen and Associates LLC of Chicago to continue providing job-order contracting vendor services for city facilities.
Kelly Coulter, the city’s director of purchasing, and Jim Birchwell, chief facilities officer, described the contract as important because it allows staff to pursue projects under the JOC threshold without restarting a formal bid process. Coulter said staff brought the extension forward because the current contract expires Dec. 31 and the city wanted continuity for maintenance and facilities projects.
Several aldermen said they supported Passion’s performance but asked why staff was not going back out to bid. Alderman Bugg recounted an earlier multi-vendor solicitation in 2020 and said he had expected the city to re-solicit after four years of experience. He said, "I'm gonna put it on unfinished I'm gonna vote no because I feel like it should go back out," and asked that other council members make their own assessments.
City officials, including Alex Alexander, chief management officer, and staff, said F. H. Passion has performed and that other municipalities have used the firm; staff described planned improvements to the program and said there is no procedural requirement to rebid professional services where performance is satisfactory.
The item (Resolution 24-0973) remained placed for further deliberation; the committee did not record a final approval on Dec. 17. No final vote was recorded in the Committee of the Whole minutes for the extension; aldermen indicated differing views and asked for additional review.
Why it matters: Job-order contracting governs small-to-medium facilities work and affects how quickly the city can deliver facility repairs. Whether to extend an incumbent vendor or seek new proposals affects competition, vendor performance oversight and potential cost savings.
