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St. Clair Shores chooses concrete for major alley reconstruction, awards $708,111 contract
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Summary
After a lengthy debate about lifecycle costs and procurement history, council voted 7–0 to award the FY2026 alley reconstruction contract to Louis Fernandez Concrete for $708,111, preferring longer service life over a $117,000 lower asphalt bid.
The St. Clair Shores City Council on Feb. 17 approved the FY2026 alley reconstruction program and awarded the contract for reconstruction work to Louis Fernandez Concrete for $708,111 after debate over asphalt versus concrete.
City Engineer Mike Freckleton explained the multiyear program and two alternative bids — an asphalt option from ASI (HMA) and a concrete option from Luigi Ferdinandi (transcribed names vary). The asphalt low bid was roughly $117,000 less than the concrete bid in staff materials. Council members discussed tradeoffs: asphalt may be cheaper to repair in the short term, while concrete can offer a longer service life; several members argued concrete’s longer lifespan justified the higher upfront cost.
Councilmember Kehren raised a procurement concern, saying ASI had been involved in a prior bid‑rigging case and “pled guilty … in 2024,” and argued that should have been noted in the staff memo. That allegation was part of council discussion and influenced some members’ preference for concrete; no representative of ASI was present to respond.
Councilmember Rebello moved to award the contract to Louis Fernandez Concrete; the motion was seconded by Councilmember Frederick and passed 7–0.
The motion approves a city contract for alley reconstruction in designated FY26 locations. Council asked staff to monitor condition lists for prioritization and to keep an eye on adjacent alleys (notably the stretch between Lakeland and Madison) for future work.
