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City engineers propose repackaging large consent‑decree construction contract after low bid far exceeds estimate
Summary
Board heard that a low construction bid for a consent‑decree subbasin project (P008 #17‑13) came in roughly 60% above the engineer's $11 million estimate. City engineering proposed rejecting the single low bid and rebidding the work in smaller packages to increase local competition and align bids with estimates.
Todd Mitke, the city’s recently hired Director of Engineering, presented options for two consent‑decree projects that had been deferred after bids came in significantly above engineer estimates. For one project (2016 SSA remedial measures subbasin, project #17‑13), the low bid was $17.7 million, about 60% higher than the $11 million engineering estimate.
Mitke told the board the engineering department recommended rejecting the original bid and repackaging the work into smaller packages and rebidding to improve competitiveness — potentially breaking the work into two or three contracts to better match local contractor bonding and capacity. Board members, including Director Neil Martin, said such large disparities between estimate and bid should have triggered additional internal review before the item reached the board and urged staff to apply lessons learned to future bond‑funded work.
Board discussion covered whether dividing the project into more, smaller packages could attract more local bidders and reduce price spikes; staff replied it would take roughly 90–120 days to reengineer and split the scope and that rebidding in separate packages and staggering bid windows could improve local bid capacity. Staff also said some large projects must remain single packages for technical reasons (for example, wastewater treatment plants).
