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Chico council denies bid protest on wastewater clarifier rehab; low bidder remains awardee
Summary
The City Council voted 7-0 to deny an appeal from Lorraine Brothers Construction challenging the city's finding that its bid for the wastewater primary clarifier rehabilitation was nonresponsive for failing to acknowledge a required addendum.
The Chico City Council on Sept. 16 denied an appeal from Lorraine Brothers Construction over the award of a contract to rehabilitate primary clarifiers at the city's wastewater treatment plant, upholding staff's finding that Lorraine Brothers' bid was nonresponsive.
City Public Works staff described the project as a structural rehabilitation of primary clarifiers 1–3, requiring long‑lead equipment orders to permit construction during low flows in the dry season. Staff told the council the city issued four addenda while the project was advertised and that Lorraine Brothers omitted the required acknowledgement form for addendum 3, which updated the plans to address additional structural cracks discovered during a mandatory pre‑bid site visit.
“The basis for the determination was that addendum 1 and addendum 3 acknowledgements were omitted for Lorraine Brothers,” Public Works staff said in their presentation, noting that other bidders submitted the required forms. Staff recommended denying the appeal because a missing acknowledgement on the required city form rendered the bid nonresponsive under the city’s bid rules and public contract practice.
Carol Lorraine, representing Lorraine Brothers Construction, told council she had printed addendum 3 from the city website but did not see the cover page and hand‑wrote an acknowledgement; she said her estimator had the full addendum and bid to the revised scope. The company argued its estimator priced the additional work and that the omission was an administrative error.
Council members pressed staff on cost differences and procurement risk. Staff said the next lowest responsive bidder was roughly $800,000 higher than Lorraine Brothers and warned that overturning the nonresponsive determination could prompt further protests, legal challenges, or re‑advertising that would delay procurement of long‑lead items and push construction into 2027.
Councilmember comments emphasized adherence to procurement rules to preserve fairness. A motion to deny the appeal and adopt a resolution upholding the Director of Public Works’ determination carried on a 7‑0 vote. The council formally adopted the resolution denying Lorraine Brothers' appeal and left the notice of intent to award in place for the previously identified responsive low bidder.
The council action keeps the city's award to the previously identified responsive low bidder intact and allows staff to proceed with contract award and procurement steps needed to secure long‑lead equipment for the rehabilitation work.
