Street committee recommends council accept $370,389 bid for South Elliot Street drainage project

The Pryor Street Committee recommended the City Council accept a $370,389 bid from J and S Construction of Anita for the South Elliot Street drainage project.

The committee voted unanimously after a discussion about the bid-opening process and a published addendum. Councilman Kenneth Brashears moved to recommend acceptance of the J and S Construction bid; Councilor Bruce Smith seconded the motion. Chair Sherry Lamar, Smith and Brashears voted yes and the motion carried.

Committee members questioned how and where bids were opened after the original bid date and an unavailable specified part required an addendum. Staff and the mayor said Infrastructure Solutions and the city’s designated bidding agent, Dale, halted the process when bidders reported the unavailable item, issued an addendum, and reopened the bid according to the revised schedule in the addendum. Committee members asked whether bids should be opened in a council or committee meeting in the future for clarity and public notice; staff said the process followed existing policy but recommended adding explicit language to the purchasing manual about addendums and public bid openings.

Two bids were recorded in the packet and discussed: J and S Construction of Anita ($370,389) and Gober Construction of Broken Arrow ($528,368). The packet included an engineer’s estimate that committee members initially misread; staff clarified the published engineer estimate and confirmed the bid opening was conducted by the city’s bidding agent and documented by minutes at 12 North Row, Suite B, per the addendum. Staff suggested revising the purchasing manual to require clearer public notice when addenda change a bid-opening date or location.

The committee also discussed bid security, bonding and non-collusion documentation; staff said submitted bids were checked for required documentation during the bid opening. One committee member said he preferred that sealed bids be opened at a posted council or committee meeting so members of the public can observe the process. Staff and the mayor said Infrastructure Solutions acted as the purchasing agent for the project under authority previously granted by council and that legal counsel had reviewed the process and found it consistent with statute.

The committee’s recommendation now moves to the full City Council for final action.