Staff recommends rejecting $2.58 million bid for Miami water treatment plant improvements

A staff member told the meeting that the only bid received for the Miami water treatment plant improvements exceeded the funds available and the engineer’s estimate, and recommended the board reject the bid and reissue the solicitation. “It is a recommendation of this office for the board to reject base bid of 2,582,320 and the bid alternate number 1 in the amount of $75,000,” the staff member said.

According to the staff presentation, the single bidder (Nolan’s Enterprises, located in Joplin) submitted a base bid of $2,582,320 plus a bid alternate of $75,000 for a combined total of $2,657,320; the engineer’s estimate for the project had been $1,700,000. The staff member said the amount was above the project’s allotted funds and that some contract items tied to grant funding would be adjusted when the project is re-solicited.

Herb Young moved to adopt the staff recommendation to reject the base bid and bid alternate; the motion was seconded and members recorded Aye votes. The board directed staff to reissue the solicitation and to seek a wider pool of bidders, with the staff member saying, “We’re sending it back out.”

The staff member said changes will be made to the project scope where grant constraints allow, and that the re-solicitation is intended to attract additional bidders and reduce the price gap with the engineer’s estimate. No specific revised timeline for re-bidding was provided during the meeting.

The motion to reject the bids was recorded as approved; the meeting then moved to the next agenda item.