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Purchasing committee backs Reeves & Young recommendation for lanes and drive expansion; clerk alternate sent to budget
Summary
Rutherford County purchasing committee voted to recommend awarding the Weekly Lanes DMS and SMUR drive expansion contract to Reeves & Young despite their bid being roughly $350,000 below the next-lowest bidder; the clerk's $155,000 alternate will be forwarded to the county budget for final appropriation.
Rutherford County's purchasing committee voted to recommend awarding a construction contract for the Weekly Lanes DMS and SMUR drive expansion to Reeves & Young, and directed that the clerk's $155,000 drive-thru alternate be forwarded to the county budget and full commission for final appropriation.
Committee staff told members Reeves & Young submitted the lowest base bid and that the firm provided a written confirmation and follow-up explanations after staff noticed a roughly $350,000 gap between the low bid and the second-lowest bid, submitted by Boyce Ballard. "They were very comfortable with their number," staff said, explaining the company had negotiated lower costs with subcontractors and is working on other major projects in Tennessee.
The staff recommendation detailed bid figures the committee reviewed: a base fee (reported by staff at approximately $1,250,000), an alternate for the clerk's drive-thru for $155,000, and unit prices cited at $275 per ton and $175 per cubic yard. Staff said the total spread to the second-lowest bidder was about $350,000 and noted that such deltas typically prompt additional vetting, which procurement had performed.
Several commissioners pressed staff for explanation of the low price and reminded the committee that construction "hard bids" (GMP/hard-bid submissions) are not the same as professional-services estimates, making some comparisons inapt. Staff said the procurement protocol requires contacting contractors to confirm bids and that Reeves & Young submitted a confirmation letter and stood by its price.
A motion to accept staff's recommendation, structured so the clerk's drive-thru alternate would proceed to budget for final appropriation before full commission approval, passed on a roll call vote of the commissioners present. The chair said the item will proceed through budget review as requested.
Next steps: the committee forwarded the recommendation per the motion's structure; the clerk will schedule the clerk alternate for budget consideration and the item will proceed to the full commission for final appropriation as required.
