The city considered canceling the meeting. However, it had to act on the road project by a deadline Friday, said Jim Rioux, the project manager.
The project will add a sidewalk, bike lanes, lighting and other street improvements to 18th Avenue from Redwood Estates to Boulevard Road, he said.
“That project will finish the road improvements on 18th Avenue,” he said.
City staffers recommended rebidding the project.
The city would lose a $1.3 million federal grant if it awarded the project to the low bidder with the current bid, due to mistakes in the bidding paperwork, Rioux said.
Active Construction of Tacoma submitted the low bid: $2.4 million. But it didn’t properly fill out the paperwork for the state’s requirement for a certain amount of minority subcontractors for the city to qualify for the grant, Rioux said.
The city also had the option to award the project to the second-lowest bidder, Rotschy Inc., which had a bid that was $148,451.91 higher.
But Rioux said the city was hoping to get a lower price by rebidding. That will cost perhaps $2,000 more; he is unsure what the price of the bids will be in a new process.
“There’s really no way to predict,” he said. “In my experience, I’ve seen lower bids come in.”
In 2010, the city finished a $2.2 million project to add roundabouts on 18th at Fones and Hoffman roads. The city also added bike lanes, sidewalk, street lights, sewer, stormwater and underground utilities.
Matt Batcheldor: 360-704-6869
mbatcheldor@theolympian.com
