Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Procurement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council denies Burrell Enterprises’ bid-rejection appeals in two public-works contracts, 5–1 votes recorded
Summary
Two appeals by Burrell Enterprises of rejected public-works bids were denied by the Omaha City Council; both rejections were based on missing bid-security documentation and a failure to deliver original bid bonds within seven days.
The Omaha City Council denied appeals by Burrell Enterprises on two separate rejected bids for city public-works contracts during the March 4 meeting.
City legal staff explained that Burrell’s electronic bid submissions lacked the required bid-bond documentation (the electronic upload of the bid bond itself was missing, though a power of attorney file was supplied). The city’s procurement rules also require the original bid bond to be delivered within seven days after electronic bids are opened; the originals were not received in the required time window, the law department said.
The council heard appeals for two projects: the citywide utility cuts contract (OPW 504,925?) and the 2025 downtown utility cuts contract (OPW 54,925?; exact internal numbers recorded on the agenda). City attorneys reported the same documentation problem on both bids. The council voted to deny the appeals: the first appeal was denied by a 5–1 vote and the second appeal was denied by a 5–1 vote. Councilmember Hugg recorded the lone “no” vote on one of the appeals.
City counsel said the statutory and procurement-code requirement for bid security left the city with little discretion because no bid security was on file. The council majority agreed and upheld the rejections.
The denials allow the procurement process to proceed consistent with the city’s procurement requirements; the transcript indicates the contracts will advance under the city’s standard procurement procedures.
