Council denies single high substation bid and authorizes rebid

The Seward City Council voted to deny the lone bid received for civil work related to a planned 10‑megawatt substation at 2845 Walker Road and authorized staff to rebid the project.

City staff told the council only one contractor submitted a bid and that the price was “substantially higher than our engineering estimate.” In the meeting a staff speaker characterized the difference as “over a half $1,000,000 higher.” Staff and the engineering team at Olson recommended denying the bid and trying another advertisement to attract additional bidders.

Council moved and approved a motion to deny the initial bid by recorded vote, then approved a separate motion to authorize administration to advertise the civil‑work package for public bids for an additional three‑week period with the aim of concluding the rebid by March. Staff said the revised schedule still fits the utility’s broader timeline for bringing the facility online and that the rebid would help control costs.

Council members asked whether engineering estimates were visible to bidders; staff said standard bid documents and estimates are typically available to plan holders. No contract was awarded at the meeting.