LaSalle council acknowledges low-bid mistake, conditionally awards $8.15 million water treatment contract to Grubwell

The LaSalle City Council voted to acknowledge a low bidder’s request to withdraw and to accept the second-low bid for the city’s 2024 water treatment plant project.

During a multi-part discussion, council members and the city engineer described that the apparent low bidder (identified in the record with variant spellings) had submitted a request to withdraw “containing a material good faith mistake in its pricing.” Councilors voted first to acknowledge and permit the withdrawal and to direct return of the bidder’s bid security. In a second motion the council accepted the bid of Grubwell Building Incorporated in the amount of $8,146,921.44, with the award expressly conditioned on closing of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan and execution of “any and all other appropriate documents in regard to the contract award.”

An engineering representative from Donahue and Associates told the council the second-low bidder’s price was consistent with the engineer’s estimate and described the firm as responsive and experienced in the region. One alderman said he had reviewed Grubwell’s background and found no issues with the contractor meeting the city’s responsible-bidder standards.

Councilors thanked staff, legal counsel, and the engineers for their work during the procurement. The mayor and several aldermen said they believed the process protected taxpayers and that the second bid aligned with the engineering estimate.

The motions passed on roll calls in which multiple aldermen recorded “Aye.” The award remains subject to the IEPA SRF loan closing and the city’s execution of contract documents.

Next steps: City staff will finalize contract paperwork, return the withdrawn bidder’s security as directed, and proceed with contract execution if the IEPA loan closes as required.