Council approves Perry Construction for East Manoa Phase 1 despite public concerns over timeline and selection process

Council voted to approve Resolution 25‑252 naming Perry Construction as the selected builder for the East Manoa Phase 1 housing project after a public hearing where two local builders and residents raised concerns about the selection and schedule.

Mark Hughes, who identified himself as owner of Mark Hughes Construction in Glenwood, said his firm has built homes under similar federal programs and questioned why his company was not contacted to demonstrate completed work. He described the complexity of meeting federal program standards, suggested a penalty or per‑diem for missed completion dates and said he did not believe his company could complete all 40 homes by the stated deadline without staged construction. Deborah (Deb) Stover, a Council Bluffs resident, asked whether rebidding and limiting the work to a single builder would slow completion, noting a committee previously selected another builder before the rebid.

Mayor Matt Walsh and other council members explained that committee decisions and federal funding rules influenced the selection process; the mayor said some decisions were made to ensure a uniform product and that federal grant terms limit local council involvement in the committee selection process. The mayor acknowledged builders’ concerns about tight timelines and said staff had discussed the possibility of requesting a grant extension.

A motion to approve Perry Construction was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. The meeting record shows no formal penalty language was adopted at this meeting; council members discussed but did not enact per‑diem or contract penalty changes on the record.

Next steps: the developer/contractor process will proceed under terms of the federal grant and local contract administration; council discussion suggested staff may pursue or evaluate an extension of federal deadlines but no formal direction was recorded.