All bids for Sierra Tract Erosion Control Project may be rejected

All bids for the final phase of the Sierra Tract Erosion Control Project may be rejected during Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Originally, Vinciguerra Construction was awarded the project even though their bid wasn't the lowest. The City felt the lowest bid, submitted by Burdick Excavating Company, didn't meet all of the federally required regulations (required due to federal financing).

Part of the process is to evaluate whether bidders have complied with the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) requirements. This means 5% of the subcontractors hired must be at least 51% owned by one or more individual(s) who are both socially and economically disadvantaged. If the company trying for the contract cannot meet the 5% minimum, documents must be presented that shows a "good faith effort" (GFE) to comply.

The lowest bidder on the project, Burdick, failed to meet DBE-GFE standards with no subcontractors involved that met the DBE thresholds and city staff determined the GFE to be inadequate.

The losing bidders may ask for an administrative reconsideration, which Burdick did.

During the hearing, City Administrative Services Director, Mark Carlson determined that Burdick Excavation Company's bid submittal and accompanying GFE documentation did not demonstrate they had performed a Good Faith Effort as required by the Code of Federal Regulations.

Burdick provided information that second lowest bidder, Vinciguerra, did not meet the 5% DBE either. Upon review, this was found to be true.

The bids received are as follows·

Bidder (followed by base bid, compensable delay and total base bid)
Burdick Excavatinq Companv $4,374,836.00 $600.00 =$4,375,436.00
Vinciguerra Construction $4,461,645.00 $60.00 =$4,462,305.00
White Rock Construction $4,942,298.50 $0.00 =$4,942,298.50
A & K Earthmovers $5,068,038.00 $6,000.00 =$5,074,038.00
Stewart Engineering $5,521,363.00 $6,000.00 =$5,527,363.00
Spanish Springs Construction $5,473,444.00 $18,000.00 =$5,491,444.00
Herback General Engineerinq $5,568,404.00 $106,800.00 =$5,675,204.00
Rapid Construction $6,618,876.60 $60,000.00 =$6,678,876.60

The other bids were not considered because they were more than 12.8% above what the engineers estimated the project should cost.

If the City Council accepts the staff recommendation to reject all bids on Tuesday, the submittal process will start over.

The Project includes reconstruction of an aging stormwater collection and conveyance system, with the addition of new curbs, gutters, stormwater treatment basins, storm water infiltration galleries, and roadside shoulder revegetation. The Project is located in the north-westerly portion of the Sierra Tract residential district and backs up against the commercial corridor that fronts Lake Tahoe Boulevard (U.S. Highway 50).