Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council awards Bee Cave Parkway repaving contract to Texas Materials Group after questions about supplemental bid information
Summary
The Bee Cave City Council unanimously awarded a just-under-$1.4 million contract to Texas Materials Group for a one-mile repaving of Bee Cave Parkway, including an additive guardrail alternate, after staff said the low bidder later supplied region-specific claims information and adequate insurance.
The Bee Cave City Council voted unanimously April 28 to award the Bee Cave Parkway pavement-improvement contract to Texas Materials Group Inc. and to include an additive alternate to install guardrails at two driveway entrances.
City engineer Mr. Rook told the council the project would mill off the top 2 inches of pavement and place about 2.25 inches of new asphalt, and that a glass-fiber interlayer would be added to extend the roadway’s life. "Essentially, just gonna cut off the top 2 inches of pavement and add another 2.25 inches of new pavement on top of it," Rook said. The project would be funded from the capital-improvements program and the low bid from Texas Materials was just under $1,400,000.
A member of the public and a competing bidder raised concerns about whether the low bidder initially provided the full five-year claims history requested in the solicitation. Billy Bannon, who said he bids as a small business owner, told the council he and his company supplied the requested materials and was concerned the low bidder later provided a narrower claims history and characterized the full list as "overly burdensome." "It just seems like there's a lot more leniency after the bid process," Bannon said.
Staff responded that the bid documents required the low bidder to submit a supplemental qualifications package after tabulation, and that when the city requested additional detail staff narrowed the scope to Central Texas claims. Engineering staff and the low bidder’s OSHA compliance representative provided a region-specific report showing essentially no claims, and staff said the company holds appropriate insurance. Ryan Bressler of Friese Nichols, the engineer of record, described the materials and installation history for the glass grid and said the technology has been used in Texas for decades.
After debate over process versus price — council noted the low bid was about a 16% delta from other bids — Mayor King moved to award the contract and to include the additive guardrail alternate; the motion carried unanimously. The motion authorized the city manager to negotiate the contract and for the mayor to sign it.
