Bluff accepts lone fire-suppression bid; award contingent on bonding and engineer review

Malia, the staff lead on procurement, told the Bluff Town Council on May 7 that the town received one responsive sealed bid for the building's fire-suppression work and recommended accepting it. "I contacted 62 fire suppression companies, and we actually had 2 at the walk through, and then we received 1 bid," Malia said, describing the outreach and procurement process.

The bid submitted by System Service Specialist Inc. totaled $204,050 and included fire sprinkler work, a fire alarm package, underground work, a kitchen hood, and fire-extinguisher cabinets. Malia said the bid packet met the RFP's submission and evaluation requirements and that town engineers have the submission for review. She told council that bonding capacity was listed as absent on the bid form but that the vendor informed staff it could provide bonding; final bonding pricing was expected the next day. "If you guys vote to approve this, I do ask that you just add on to that saying, pending what that bonding price is gonna be," she said.

Council members said they were comfortable moving forward with the award subject to Malia's recommended contingencies. The chair called the vote and announced the bid was accepted "contingent on reasonable bonding costs and no big red flags from the engineers." The motion passed with no recorded opposition.

Why it matters: The contract covers critical life-safety systems for the town facility and is funded from a combination of grants. According to staff, the town had $217,471 budgeted for fire suppression across grants; the bid falls under that total even after allowing room for bonding and other necessary work.

Next steps: Staff will confirm bonding details and complete any outstanding engineer comments before finalizing the contract award.