School district seeks bid waivers for two aging turf fields as court scrutiny clouds 'piggybacking' procurements
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Summary
The City School District asked the Syracuse City Council for bid waivers on two turf-field replacements, citing a pending court appeal over use of piggyback contracts and warning that cancelling the current purchase orders would delay work and increase costs.
Tom Ferrer, director of facilities for the City School District, told the Syracuse City Council that two secondary turf fields — one behind the Henninger rink and one at Valleyfield — are more than 20 years old and in need of immediate replacement.
The district has already awarded purchase orders and seeks a bid waiver to proceed, Ferrer said, citing a pending appeal of a court ruling about a school district's use of piggybacking procurement in another jurisdiction. "So what happened was there was a piggybacking law in a rural school district down in the Binghamton area, went a little too far with the piggybacking and basically, like, tried to do a whole renovation by piggybacking. And a judge said, you didn't competitively, get that work," Ferrer said, adding the appeal will not be resolved until late summer or fall.
Ferrer said the district has limited its prior use of bid waivers. "I think I've asked for 1 bid waiver in 17 years with the school district from you folks. So we don't normally do this," he said, adding that cancelling the existing purchase orders would push the work into late fall or next year and increase costs.
Councilors pressed for safeguards. One councilor said repeated RFP waivers are concerning and asked whether the district has long-term capital planning in place. "I guess my question is, are there long term capital improvement plans in place ... I'm not a fan of waiving RFPs," the councilor said. Ferrer replied the district generally uses the city's engineering office for capital projects and stressed the need for consistency in turf type to simplify maintenance.
On safety and use, Ferrer and councilors debated turf versus grass. Ferrer said turf allows earlier spring use and longer seasonal availability; another councilor raised heat and injury concerns tied to turf. "Turf fields can have a difference of 10 degrees hotter than grass fields," a councilor noted.
The district said contractors are ready to start as soon as weather permits and the work could be completed in July if started in April. Ferrer also noted that the stadium behind ITC still awaits state approval and that the district will return to the council when additional approvals for that project are secured.
The council did not take a final vote on the bid-waiver request during the study session and asked staff to provide any additional procurement and schedule details before formal action.
