Council tables Bennett Library boiler award after procurement irregularities raised

Council members on Monday unanimously agreed to delay action on a contract to replace the boiler at the Robert and Janet Bennett Civic Center Library after staff recommended awarding the work to Guardian Services at a low bid of $152,596.

The contract award was recommended by DPW staff, which said Guardian had submitted the lowest responsive price. But multiple council members and several residents raised procedural and fairness concerns during extended debate. Council member McDonald said the procurement documents were incomplete: "We cannot accept the bid from somebody who does not have the bid bond properly executed in their bid package. We cannot accept it." Several council members also pointed to a mandatory pre-bid meeting that Guardian did not attend and to a short solicitation window that included the July 4 holiday.

Residents and public commenters urged the council not to overlook the irregularities. Jared Krasinski told the council bluntly: "This bid needs to be thrown out." Staff and purchasing officials responded that Guardian had been a prequalified vendor for prior library work (Sandburg library) and that certain omissions were clerical in nature. Staff also noted the next-lowest bid was roughly $200,000—tens of thousands higher.

After hearing legal and procurement concerns, the council voted to table the award and requested a written legal opinion on whether the bid package was legally acceptable and whether the city could move forward without re-bidding. The council set a target to revisit the item at its August 31 meeting. City staff said they will provide a procurement timeline, copies of addenda and the vendor-supplied bid bond to the council and legal department for review.