The Lane County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 6 denied a protest by Classic Design and Construction and directed county staff to award the Armitage Dog Park construction contract to Riverbend Construction for $360,845.

Procurement Manager Sean Hubbell summarized the procurement record: 11 bids were received, the solicitation required prequalification in the county’s Community Benefits Bidding (CBB) program, and the notice of intent to award initially named Papaya Contracting as the apparent low bidder. After protests, staff found Papaya ineligible under the CBB requirement and rescinded the award to Papaya; Riverbend was then listed on an amended notice of intent to award. Classic Design filed a protest alleging Riverbend relied on a first‑tier subcontractor that was not prequalified. Staff denied Classic Design’s protest after Riverbend amended its subcontractor disclosures and stated it would self‑perform the disputed work.

Classic Design’s representative, Cynthia Denny, told the board she believed Classic Design should have been recognized as the lowest responsive bidder and urged the board to apply option motion 2 in the packet. Hubbell said staff and county counsel reviewed comparable situations and concluded allowing a prime bidder to substitute an ineligible subcontractor (or self‑perform) without changing price preserves the public interest and prevents increased cost; staff also noted lessons learned that prequalification checks should have been identified at bid opening.

Commissioners asked procedural and policy questions, including whether the $500,000 CBB threshold was being applied consistently and whether allowing Riverbend to amend its subcontractor list changed the bid’s responsiveness. Commissioner Lovell argued the project was under $500,000 and therefore should not have been treated as a CBB project; Lovell voted against the award on that principle. Commissioner Trigger moved to deny Classic Design’s appeal and to proceed with awarding the contract to Riverbend for $360,845 and to adopt the related order; the motion passed 4–1 (Lovell nay).

The board directed staff to proceed with the award and noted staff will take lessons learned to refine future solicitations and pre‑award checks.