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After debate over bid comparability, Brainerd council awards M Street stormwater engineering work to WSB
Summary
Council accepted staff recommendation to award M Street stormwater outfall repair engineering services to WSB after members expressed concern that competing proposals were difficult to compare. City engineer explained bid differences and council approved the award.
The Brainerd City Council voted March 10 to accept staff's recommendation and proceed with WSB for engineering services on the M Street stormwater outfall repair project after members raised concerns that the two proposals in the record were difficult to compare.
Safety & Public Works Committee Chair Tad Erickson had reported at committee that staff received two proposals with a substantial cost delta and that committee asked staff to develop clearer comparison criteria. In committee, no recommendation left the committee because of the discrepancy; at the full council meeting Councilmember Chesak moved to accept staff's recommendation to proceed with WSB and the motion passed after discussion about evaluation criteria.
Councilmember Mike Yeager explained his concerns about comparing the two proposals. "The two proposals that were set side by side were just so vastly off in the delta that... I couldn't make a motion," he said during committee remarks, urging clearer scope alignment for apples-to-apples comparison. Yeager told the council he wanted more information on why staff recommended WSB.
City Engineer Jesse Dean responded that both firms were given a set scope of services and background materials and that the ad-alternate differences accounted for some of the apparent cost gap. "One decided to provide a cost for an add alternate at this time and one did not," Dean said, adding that staff had compared both firms on the base scope and found WSB the most appropriate choice.
After staff clarification and council discussion about the timeline and erosion risk, Chesak moved and Bevins seconded the motion to follow staff's recommendation and award the contract to WSB. The council voted in favor and the motion passed.
Council asked staff to return with more standardized proposal-scoring criteria to ensure future comparisons are straightforward and to confirm the timeline for construction relative to spring thaw and erosion risk.
Ending: Staff will proceed with WSB for the M Street stormwater outfall engineering services; council requested clearer proposal formats and criteria for future professional-service procurements to avoid similar comparability issues.
