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Council approves switching cable purchase after low bidder retracts; city to explore recourse
Summary
After the low bidder asked to cancel a purchase order for underground cable, the Ames City Council approved accepting the cancellation and awarding the contract to the next-lowest responsible bidder. City legal staff will investigate potential remedies for the initial bidder’s withdrawal.
The Ames City Council approved staff’s recommendation to accept a request from the lowest bidder to cancel a recently approved purchase order for electrical cable and to award the purchase to the next-lowest responsible bidder.
Staff explained that the low bid appeared abnormally low — roughly half the price an earlier purchase of the same cable had cost — and supplier follow-up indicated the low bidder had made a mathematical error (apparently pricing for 2,000 feet rather than 1,000 feet). The city’s purchasing staff said the next-lowest bidder’s price was approximately $75,000 higher than the withdrawn bid; rebidding risked a six-month delay that could affect the South 16th Street widening project timetable.
Council authorized staff to accept the withdrawal, proceed with the next-lowest responsible bidder (WESCO in staff materials), and directed staff to investigate options for legal recourse or recovery if appropriate. City counsel said an initial step would be a demand letter and that any litigation decision would follow further analysis.
Council members discussed taxpayer/ratepayer fairness and whether future city bid documents should include explicit remedies or penalties for a bidder who withdraws after award; one motion asked staff to examine contract language to tighten protections in future procurements.
