Apache Junction council rejects all bids for city fiber loop project
Summary
The council voted unanimously Dec. 16 to reject all bids for RFP IT2025-01 to complete a city fiber loop after nine proposals came in nearly $1 million above the $1.2 million budget; staff will rescope and rebid the project.
Apache Junction — The Apache Junction City Council on Dec. 16 unanimously approved staff’s recommendation to reject all bids for RFP IT2025-01, a planned loop intended to expand and strengthen the city’s municipal fiber optic network.
City staff member Matt told the council the project would complete a loop to the city’s existing fiber system. “We went out to bid and received nine bids. They came in way higher than we expected,” Matt said, and requested authority to reject the bids so staff can refine the scope and procurement approach. He reported the project budget was about $1,200,000 and that responses came in “almost $1,000,000 more than we expected.”
Council members pressed staff on whether the submitted bids included breakdowns that could be used to scale back priority areas. Matt said the vendor responses “didn’t include those sorts of nuances” and recommended retooling the scope, possibly splitting the work into prioritized options or pursuing alternative procurement methods.
After brief questions, a council member moved to approve rejection of the proposals, the motion was seconded and passed by roll call with all members voting yes.
The council did not set a new timeline for reissuing the RFP; staff said procurement and IT will return with a refined plan and next steps.
What happens next: Staff will review the bid responses, refine the project scope and consider alternate procurement strategies before rebidding the project. No vendor was selected and no contract was awarded at the meeting.
