Lockport council awards $201,789 manhole rehabilitation contract after bid correction and safety review

Lockport’s City Council voted to award the 2025 Manhole Rehabilitation Project to Advanced Rehabilitation Technology for a contract not to exceed $201,789.01, after staff identified a bidder calculation error and reviewed safety citations referenced by a labor organization.

Public Works representative Brian told the council the city opened bids Jan. 8 and received a single proposal. "We only received 1 bid from Advanced Rehabilitation Technology company, in the amount of $201,789.01," he said, and explained a $10,000 calculation error in the originally submitted bid was corrected in the bid tab and reflected in the resolution and memo provided to council.

Brian described the work as focused on roughly 16 manholes that had been buried and subsequently trapped hydrogen sulfide gas, corroding concrete and exposing rebar. "By aligning this, we will prevent us from having to do full replacement of these manholes and also... reduce I and I," he said, referring to efforts to cut stormwater inflow to the sanitary system.

Council members raised a separate concern after receiving an email from the District Laborers Council alleging OSHA violations by the bidder. Mike (Public Works/Engineering) said staff pulled the actual OSHA records and found the five cited items were from a single 2024 Michigan job site and were safety-related (for example, respirator use in confined spaces). He added the city received a response letter dated the day of the meeting from David Rogers, the safety director for Advanced Rehabilitation Technology, and that combined with the city’s prior experience with the vendor made staff comfortable recommending award. "Between our review of those citations... and the letter we got from their safety director, we're comfortable with moving forward with the bid," Mike said.

The council voted by roll call to approve the award. Votes recorded in the meeting: King — Yes; Pugh — Aye; Lyft — Yes; Galogly — Yes; Bergbauer — Yes; Duskin — Yes; Bartleson — Yes; Anne Cardamone — Aye. The motion passed.

The contract work is intended to realign and line affected manholes to extend service life and reduce longer-term replacement costs. The resolution and corrected bid tab were issued to council members in advance of the vote; staff acknowledged the bid tab oversight in the memo and explained the correction to the council during the meeting.

No amendments to the award were made at the meeting. The city will proceed with contract execution and project scheduling under the terms described in the resolution.