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SFPUC awards Bay Division pipeline crossover contract to low bidder amid HRC supplier dispute
Summary
The commission awarded the Bay Division pipeline #3 & #4 crossover construction contract to the low bidder, Shimek, after HRC reconsidered and concluded Shimek met local vendor participation goals; Mountain Cascade protested the supplier/broker credit allocation and argued Shimek's bid should be nonresponsive, but the commission approved the award.
At the April 28 meeting the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission approved plans, specifications and award of the Water Enterprise contract WD‑2568 for Bay Division pipeline numbers 3 and 4 crossover facilities, recommending award to Shimek as the lowest responsive bidder at $12,695,000.
Assistant General Manager Harling Kelly said the project adds three isolation crossover facilities to improve maintainability and emergency response. The engineering estimate for construction was $21.5 million; nine bids were received and Shimek submitted the low bid.
HRC (the City’s Human Rights/Contract Compliance office) initially determined Shimek had not met local vendor (LVE/LBE) goals based on bid submissions, but after Shimek provided additional documentation HRC escalated the review. Jameson Cooley, HRC contract compliance officer, testified that HRC’s director reviewed the aggregate bid materials and subsequent documentation and concluded Shimek met the LBE participation goal.
Mountain Cascade, the third‑lowest bidder, raised a public protest through counsel asserting two central claims: (1) the supplier All West functions as a broker not a supplier for engineered pipe and thus should receive a 5% supplier credit (not the 60% supplier credit HRC applied), and (2) HRC previously had written Shimek letters finding the bid nonresponsive, which would bar awarding to a nonresponsive bidder under California public contracting rules. Shimek’s counsel and HRC responded that All West maintains a supplier relationship for the butterfly valves and that the large engineered pipe (the project’s primary material) was not credited to All West in the challenged way; HRC said purchase orders and prior city supply relationships supported supplier status.
Commissioners expressed concern about inconsistent messages in bid determinations and asked HRC and staff to work together earlier in future procurements to avoid ambiguity. After discussion, a commissioner moved to accept the Shimek bid as responsive, another seconded, and the commission voted to award the contract. The commission asked HRC and procurement staff to coordinate to reduce future bidder confusion and to monitor the implementation.
