Council rejects bid protest, awards 501 S. State Street remodel to DMR Builders

The Ukiah City Council rejected a bid protest and approved a final award for the remodel of 501 South State Street (the former B of A building), naming DMR Builders as the apparent low responsive bidder.

Purchasing staff reported irregularities in bid tabulation but recommended waiving them because staff said they did not affect the low-bid determination. Couples & Sons filed a protest asserting the apparent low bidder failed to list subcontractors for painting and roofing, which Couples argued should have been disclosed under the Public Contracts Code.

The city attorney reviewed the Public Contracts Code provisions and presented two possible outcomes: either reject the protest and award to the low bidder or accept the protest if the unlisted subcontracted work exceeded the disclosure threshold. The city attorney noted that the law treats unlisted subcontractor work below the half-percent threshold as allowable and that the general contractor is deemed to have represented it will self-perform any unlisted work.

DMR’s owner, JR DaSilva, participated remotely and said DMR typically self-performs painting and that the roofing item in question fell below the disclosure threshold; Couples & Sons maintained DMR's bid documents and a subcontractor offer made the scope unclear. Council members debated whether the bid was sloppy but concluded that, in the absence of clear evidence the low bid was nonresponsive, they were required to accept the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.

By roll-call vote (4–1), the council rejected the protest and approved the award to DMR Builders. Vice Mayor Schurr recorded the lone no vote in the roll call. The council asked staff to monitor certified payrolls and subcontractor performance documentation during contract administration.

Next steps: staff will finalize the award and begin contract administration and required pre-construction compliance checks.