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Providence councilors question contract change order for pavement-marking vendor, seek project list
Summary
City staff asked the Providence City Council to approve a change order and contract extension for pavement-marking work billed to the city's speed camera/safety funds. Councilors requested a prioritized list of safety projects, cost estimates, and tighter controls after invoices exceeded purchase orders.
Providence City Council on Thursday considered a resolution to approve change order No. 2 and an associated contract award for pavement-marking work, funding the work from existing safety-related accounts in the Department of Public Works budget.
The request would authorize a change order and contract extension for Baked Me Marketing, LLC, for $75,244 and use money budgeted in operating line 1013030553911 and other safety-related accounts, city staff said. City staff said the marked work has been prioritized and that contractors notify the city weekly about what they have completed and how much of the purchase order (PO) they have used.
Councilors pressed staff for details: Councilor Helen Anthony asked which projects would be paid from the account, and requested a prioritized list and rough cost estimates. A member of Public Works said, “There are currently about 80 safety projects… They range in size from just doing stop bars at an intersection… to putting in a crosswalk,” and that contractors report quantities and costs as they perform field work.
Why it matters: Councilors said the contract escalation and apparent PO overages make it hard to track whether budgeted funds are being spent on the city's highest-priority safety modifications. Councilors insisted on better management and documentation before approving additional spending.
Details and council direction
- City staff described a previous awarded contract under $85,000 that grew as invoices and extensions were processed. Staff said the vendor has performed traffic-marking and related work on multiple projects and that some invoices exceeded initial PO amounts.
- Councilors asked for a full list of the pavement-marking projects prioritized for this money and for rough cost estimates per item. Staff said the contractors are required to report weekly on completed projects and PO utilization so the city can track spending.
- Councilor Anthony and others expressed concern that the speed-camera/safety fund has a substantial balance and that some safety projects remain unaddressed. Staff noted the city has a CIP plan with dedicated line items that could be amended to include additional safety work and that the speed-camera safety fund has roughly $400,000 available per year as a planning assumption.
- Councilors asked that staff tighten controls to prevent further PO overages; staff said they were implementing contractual language and process changes to reduce the risk and would share the priority list and current PO usage with the council.
Where things stand
The committee moved forward with the item during the meeting and the presenter indicated the council had approved the item on the floor during the session. Councilors asked staff to return with the project priority list, per-project cost estimates where available, and a clearer accounting of which line items are funding which safety projects.
Council members also asked staff to explain whether a larger procurement or rebid might be warranted if the city is repeatedly extending the same vendor's contract; staff responded the pool of qualified pavement-marking firms is small and that they are using a documented weekly-reporting process to manage PO limits.
Ending
Councilors left the meeting having requested the prioritized project list, stronger PO controls and clearer reporting on how speed-camera and safety funds are being allocated to pavement-marking and traffic-calming projects.
