Council approves $195,216 ADA curb-ramp contract after debate over single bid

The Auburn City Council voted to award a contract for the 2026 ADA curb-ramp upgrade project after brief questioning about procuring only one bid.

Public Works Director Angeline told council the project drew a single responsive bid and that the $195,215.90 total (including a 10% contingency) was consistent with comparable projects. "The total bid for it is a $195,215.90," Angeline said.

Councilmembers sought more competition. One councilmember asked whether staff could re-solicit or broaden the search; Angeline responded that re-bidding could increase costs because this is construction season and might not produce additional responses. She also said re-bidding would use substantial staff time to re-run the process and answer vendor questions.

After discussion, Councilmember (mover) put forward a resolution to execute the contract as recommended; it was seconded and carried by roll call (Councilmember Amara voted No; the remaining members voted Aye). The motion authorized execution of the construction agreement with contingency funding already included in the recommendation.

The contract award was discussed during the consent-calendar removal (item 7). Angeline noted staff could re-advertise but warned of higher mobilization costs from nonlocal contractors if local firms did not bid. The council recorded concerns about market interest but concluded that the bid was within expected ranges and approved moving forward to keep the project on schedule.

The project will proceed under the terms in the bid package; staff did not announce a start date during the discussion. Any follow-up on bid outreach or lessons learned for future public-works solicitations was left to staff briefing after award.

The council took the vote during the July 13 meeting and passed the motion to execute the contract.