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Omaha council refers Judd’s Brothers bid appeal back to Public Works after SEB documentation issue
Summary
Judd’s Brothers, the low bidder on the Oak Hills lift-station project, appealed a bid rejection tied to a subcontractor’s lapsed SEB certification. City staff said SEB documentation must be approved before bid opening; council voted 5–0 to refer the matter back to Public Works for rebid.
The Omaha City Council on Jan. 27 voted unanimously to refer a contractors’ bid appeal back to the Public Works Department for rebidding after city staff said required small-emerging-business (SEB) documentation was not approved before the bid opening.
Kevin Steele of Judd’s Brothers Construction told the council the company submitted the low bid for the Oak Hills lift-station replacement (OPW 54670) and intended to use Bam Bam Construction as a subcontractor; he said Bam Bam’s SEB certification had lapsed and was being resubmitted and would likely be reinstated within one to two weeks. "Our bid on that project was rejected since they were not currently certified," Steele said, urging the council to waive the irregularity so the city could accept the low bid and preserve taxpayer savings.
Heather Tippie Pierce of Public Works explained the relevant city code requires documentation for contractors and subcontractors to be completed and approved by the Human Rights and Relations Department prior to the date of bid opening. Pierce told the council that prior council precedent and departmental practice supported rejecting bids that lack approved documentation at bid opening, and staff recommended denying the appeal and referring the project back to Public Works to be rebid.
Jeffrey Bloom, City of Omaha staff, said Bam Bam had applied and was under consideration but was not an approved SEB participant at the time the bid was submitted. Legal counsel Mac Cousy confirmed referring the project back to the department for rebid was an acceptable council action; he noted the department planned to rebid the project and that previously rejected bidders may bid again.
Councilmember Harding moved to refer the matter to the appropriate department for rebid; after a second, the council approved the motion 5–0. City staff said all bids for the project were rejected and the project will be placed on a future rebid list so contractors may submit new bids.
