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Council rejects bids for citywide camera project after procurement concerns; directs rebid
Summary
Council members voted to reject all bids for a proposed citywide video management system after public commenters and local contractors raised concerns about a rushed RFP, limited pre‑bid access to traffic cabinets and unclear lifecycle costs; staff said a COPS grant and public safety needs motivated a fast schedule but agreed to rebid.
The La Verne City Council voted to reject all bids for a proposed citywide video management system after contractors and a vendor representative flagged procurement problems and asked the city to rebid with clearer scope and more pre‑bid access.
City engineer Cody Howing had recommended awarding a construction contract for base and alternate items to Convergent Technologies for a base amount of $612,350 and sought authority for up to 18% in change orders. The project was largely funded by a $500,000 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant secured earlier by city staff.
At public comment, a representative who said he was with Allied Universal and identified himself as a vendor urged the council to postpone the award and "put it back out and get good quality bids from all vendors," arguing bidders had insufficient access to traffic cabinet enclosures during the tight bid window and that the RFP did not fully define lifecycle and ongoing operating costs.
Multiple local contractors echoed concerns that access to cabinets and schedule constraints made it difficult to produce apples‑to‑apples bids. Staff acknowledged the procurement tightness had been driven by the grant time line and holiday schedule and said they had sought a grant extension; IT consultants and the police chief said the technology choice and vendor selection were based on internal reviews and public‑safety needs.
Council members expressed support for moving forward but agreed that the procurement should be "bulletproof." They voted 5–0 to reject all bids and directed staff to reopen the process with clearer specifications and adequate time for pre‑bid inspections so contractors can evaluate traffic cabinets, trenching and ongoing data costs. Staff estimated resubmittal and review could take several weeks and said the grant extension provides additional time to rebid and complete the project.
