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Livermore bid protest: Schrader & Brandt asks council to accept low bid; staff deems bid nonresponsive
Summary
At the July 28 meeting, counsel for Schrader & Brandt asked the council to waive two bid deviations and accept the company's $5,386,000 low bid on item 5.8; City Attorney and staff described procedural defects and said staff deemed the bid nonresponsive, leaving award to the next lowest bidder and the matter as an administrative determination. The consent calendar passed with an abstention on 5.8.
A public comment exchange during the July 28 Livermore City Council meeting focused on item 5.8, a construction contract award for which Schrader & Brandt was the apparent low bidder.
Brian Bertoza, representing Schrader & Brandt, asked council to pull item 5.8 from the consent calendar and accept his client's low bid of $5,386,000. He argued two bid deviations were waivable: the bid had a single corporate officer signature rather than the required two, and it initially omitted subcontractor percentage-of-work totals. Bertoza told council those deviations were "waivable and inconsequential" and that awarding to the next low bidder would cost taxpayers an additional $287,000.
City Attorney Jace Stockhola explained the post-opening administrative review process under the Public Contract Code, saying staff identified defects including failure to list subcontractors and math errors. "Staff made the determination that their bid was nonresponsive, and they also made the determination that the errors were not inconsequential," Stockhola said, noting staff-level determinations about responsiveness are typical and that council is not required to overturn such administrative decisions.
Council pulled item 5.8 for discussion but ultimately approved the consent calendar with an abstention recorded for item 5.8; the council did not reverse the staff determination at the meeting.
