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Bluff council conditionally approves UltraLights bid for town-center lighting retrofit
Summary
The Bluff Town Council voted to accept UltraLights’ top-scoring bid for an energy-efficiency lighting retrofit at the Bluff Community Center, contingent on a Buy America/Build America waiver; one council member opposed approving the waiver without returning bids to the council.
The Bluff Town Council voted July 15 to conditionally accept UltraLights’ bid to replace lighting at the Bluff Community Center, accepting a non-Buy America/Build America (non-BABA) bid if a waiver is granted and otherwise moving forward with UltraLights’ Buy America/Build America-compliant option.
Staff member Collins presented the bid evaluation and scoring sheet, saying UltraLights ranked highest among proposals. Collins reported comparative scores for other bidders: Lyle Northern Electric (65%), Sanders Electric (60–70% depending on BABA qualification) and UltraLights (90% non-BABA; 95% non-BABA listed in the materials). Councilmember Britt Hornsby moved to accept the UltraLights non-BABA bid with a waiver; Jennifer Davila seconded the motion.
Mayor Ann K. Leppanen, Hornsby, Linda Sosa and Davila voted in favor. Councilmember Luanne Hook voted against the motion, stating she opposed approving a waiver without an opportunity to bring the bids back before the council if the waiver is not approved.
Council discussed local-preference considerations and review of online contractor information. Collins said the original request for proposals did not specify a local-preference clause, which may limit the council’s ability to apply such a preference after the fact. The motion recorded a conditional award that hinges on a waiver; if a waiver is not issued, the council directed staff to accept UltraLights’ Buy America/Build America-compliant bid instead.
The action authorizes staff to proceed with contract award under those conditions; the council did not document a lower-level contracting schedule or an exact project commencement date at the meeting.
