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Council rejects sole chip‑seal bid after rubberized material raises cost
Summary
Councilors approved rejecting the sole bid from Dittle Construction for chip‑seal work on Garfield Street and Blaine Street after staff said a rubberized chip could not be sourced locally, increasing the project cost by about 30% (roughly $125,000). The city will explore alternatives and return with new proposals.
The Moscow City Council on June 1 approved rejecting the sole bid from Dittle Construction for planned chip‑seal work on Garfield Street and on Blaine Street from Third to Highway 8 after staff said the bid exceeded available funds.
Councilor Evan pulled item C from the consent agenda to highlight the issue and asked staff to provide context. Nicole Beard Spencer, a city staff member, told councilors the expense increase stemmed from the provision of a rubberized chip that could not be sourced locally and raised the project cost by about 30%, or about $125,000. "The single bid came in; the issue is the provision of the rubberized chip that we cannot find locally, and it increased the cost by about 30% or $125,000," she said.
Councilors discussed the procurement language and whether the correct action was to approve rejecting the bid; the council agreed to reject the bid and to re‑evaluate options for chip seal and slurry coating approaches in future procurements.
The rejection means the city will not proceed with the chip‑seal contract as bid and staff will return with alternative approaches and cost estimates. No new contract award was announced at the meeting.
