Historic Lincoln Park rehabilitation bids exceed budget; county to rebid or renegotiate

County officials told the Board on July 15 that bids for historic rehabilitation work at Lincoln Park substantially exceeded the available budget and that the Administration will rebid the package, prequalify contractors or negotiate where appropriate.

Director Jonathan DeFilippo told the Board that the project had an estimated budget of approximately $1.9 million but that one bid came back at about $3.8 million and another contractor did not submit required materials. Administrator Abraham Antun said there are only a small number of contractors qualified to perform historic-work specifications and that the county will go back out to bid to expand the pool and seek a more competitive price.

Why it matters: When a public works procurement comes in far higher than the budgeted amount, the County must consider rebidding, negotiating with the qualified bidders or adjusting the scope to remain within available funding. Commissioners expressed concern about the possibility of only one responsive bid putting the county at a pricing disadvantage and asked for more detail on qualification and bidding requirements.

What was requested: Commissioners asked Administration to provide the bid documents and the qualification criteria, to explore prequalification procedures that might increase competition, and, if necessary, to reject the bids and restart the procurement. Administrator Antun said the county can renegotiate or run a new procurement process.

Ending: Administration said it will proceed to rebid and report back; no final award or contract amendment was recorded in the caucus transcript.