Council awards $493,000 contract for 1st Street construction despite questions about bid estimates

The South Bend City Council voted April 28 to award the 1st Street construction contract to Advanced Excavation Specialists of Kelso for $493,000 after receiving the low bid.

During discussion, Councilor Corcoran questioned several line items and the gap between bids and the engineer’s estimate. “How did the engineering estimate come in so low when there's, like, $300,000 difference?” Corcoran asked, specifically calling out lines 5, 8 and 20 and the temporary-traffic-control allowance. The mayor replied that the city’s engineers prepare the estimate and the council does not review bidders’ line-by-line reasoning during the award process: “Graham Osborne puts…together their estimate, and then these contractors estimate what they can do the job for,” the mayor said.

Staff recommended Advanced Excavation Specialists as the lowest responsible bidder. A motion to award the contract was moved and seconded; the council voted in favor and the mayor announced the project will be awarded to Advanced Excavation Specialists.

The discussion left several follow-up items: Corcoran asked to meet with staff (Dennis was named as a contact) to review the bid details and differences between the engineer’s estimate and contractor pricing. The transcript records the engineer’s estimate for the project at about $453,000 and the low bid at $493,000, a difference the council flagged for clarification.

No vote roll call with individual member votes was recorded in the public transcript for this item; the minutes reflect the motion carried.