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Commissioners table reservoir rehabilitation award after single bid, direct staff to negotiate
Summary
After receiving a lone bid for a concrete reservoir rehabilitation at the water plant, commissioners asked staff to negotiate scope and price with the contractor and tabled formal award for two weeks so staff can return with revised pricing or a rebid recommendation.
Commissioners on the Water and Light Commission on Aug. 6 tabled a decision on awarding the contract to repair and rehabilitate a concrete reservoir at the city water plant after staff reported receiving only one bid.
Todd, a city staff member leading the procurement discussion, told commissioners the pre-bid inspection and previous engineering study (KLM, 2019) informed the budget but that the lone bidder’s price appeared high in several line items. Staff and commissioners identified specific scope items where the city could reduce cost — for example, replacing a small number of corroded bolts that staff said could be handled by city crews — and discussed removing noncritical interior concrete repairs from the immediate scope.
Commissioners debated two options: rebid the project or negotiate with the single responsive bidder and reduce scope where appropriate. Commissioners noted the reservoir has been taken out of service and staff would like to accomplish some repairs this year but were reluctant to accept what they described as an excessive price without negotiation. Staff said they would attempt to negotiate with the contractor (listed in the bid materials as ICS/IC/ICS) to lower cost or revise scope and return to the commission in roughly two weeks with a recommendation.
No formal award was made. The commission’s action was to table the item to allow staff time to (1) pursue negotiations with the bidder, (2) identify portions of work city crews can complete to reduce contractor cost, and (3) present an adjusted contract or a rebid recommendation at a subsequent meeting.
Why it matters: The reservoir is part of the city’s potable water infrastructure; delaying a final award preserves financial oversight and gives staff time to reduce immediate costs while keeping the facility out of service until repairs are completed.
Next steps: Staff will pursue negotiations and return with updated pricing or a recommendation to rebid. If negotiations do not yield a satisfactory reduction, commissioners may choose to rebid, approve a negotiated scope, or accept the contractor’s price.
