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Evansville Parks Board approves Garmin for Next Level Trail phase 1 after Rivertown protest
Summary
Rivertown Construction's attorney argued the company's bid was the low, compliant offer and should have been awarded, but Purchasing said required documents were missing. After legal discussion and a brief review, the board voted to approve the recommended contractor for phase 1 of the Next Level Trail.
The Evansville City Parks Board voted Dec. 4 to approve and execute an agreement with the recommended contractor for phase 1 of the Next Level Trail, after hearing a protest from the low‑bidder’s attorney.
Mark T. Abel, an attorney with Jackson Kelly representing Rivertown Construction, told the board Rivertown submitted the low bid and “substantially complied” with the bid instructions. Abel said the company’s bid was $112,000 lower than the recommended contractor’s and argued that excluding Rivertown over a missing duplicate flash drive and a non‑letter format for reference pages improperly barred the low bid.
Miss Streeter, a Purchasing representative, told the board she reviewed all submissions and found that supplemental reference pages lacked contact names and that the flash drive was a required part of the sealed bid packet. "The flash drive was in the bid documents that this was a required item," she said, and she explained she had applied the same responsiveness standard to every submission.
Board members questioned whether the missing materials were a procedural technicality or a disqualifying defect under governing procurement standards. The board paused to allow staff counsel time to review the legal citations supplied by Rivertown’s attorney, then returned to deliberations. Board President noted sympathy for bidders who lose work but emphasized fairness to bidders who complied with the instructions.
After discussion, a motion to approve and execute the agreement with the recommended contractor for phase 1 of the Next Level Trail was moved and seconded; the board carried the motion by voice vote.
What happens next: The board approved the award and instructed staff to proceed with executing the contract. The record indicates Purchasing deemed two of four bids nonresponsive; the board did not provide a roll‑call vote at the meeting. Any further legal challenges would be handled through the appropriate procurement and legal procedures.
