Council committee approves $3.34 million contract for Woodstream sewer bypass after bid correction

The Public Works Committee approved entering into a construction contract with Hanks Excavating and Landscaping Inc. for the Woodstream Sewer Bypass Phase 1 project, with a recommended award amount of $3,336,894 based on adjusted unit pricing.

Why it matters: the project replaces a section of the city's South Sewer Trunk Line and includes under-road and under-rail bored sections. The line carries sewer flows that are important to system capacity and reliability.

What happened: at bid opening Hanks submitted the low overall bid but one unit price (rock-excavation premium) appeared to be an outlier: Hanks bid $32 per cubic yard for rock excavation while competing bids listed hundreds of dollars per cubic yard. Hanks later told staff the intended price was $320 per cubic yard and acknowledged a tabulation error. The city attorney advised the staff that negotiations with the low bidder are permissible as long as the revised amount does not exceed the next-lowest bidder. Staff negotiated an increased rock-excavation unit price to $285 per cubic yard (the lower of the other bids' rock-excavation unit prices), which raised Hanks' total but kept it lower than competing bids.

Staff rationale and oversight: Public Works staff said the negotiated adjustment preserves the lowest overall cost to the city while avoiding the expense and delay of rebidding the project or pursuing the low bidder's bid bond. Committee members praised staff for identifying the discrepancy before construction began. Staff also noted Hanks has previously completed work for the city, including a recent reconstruction project near the sports park.

Vote and next steps: the committee approved forwarding the contract recommendation to council; staff will prepare the formal contract documentation and send the award for council approval at the next regular meeting.