Lafayette Council Addresses Burton Ridge Trail Hiccup, Pushes Forward

When it comes to contract bidding, the Lafayette City Council prefers the devil they know to the devil they don't.

At the Monday evening city council meeting, council members revisited the topic of accepting bids for the Burton Ridge Trail Connector Project along Murray Lane. The original contract was awarded to a company that had to rescind its commitment, which meant that the council was faced once again with the bidding process.

Engineering Services Manager Tony Coe presented the council with two major options: re-advertise the project or award the contract to the second lowest bidder. Coe recommended that city staff re-bid the contract, but the council chose the latter option.

The trail connector project was originally awarded to Ameca General Engineering on June 28 for $208,250.60. Ameca requested to withdraw its bid because it was unable to secure a bid bond needed to enter into the contract with Lafayette.

Councilman Carl Anduri questioned the legitimacy of Ameca's bid from its inception. The Ameca contract proposal was $101,527 cheaper than its closest competitor's bid, which was submitted by Grade Tech, Inc.

Anduri asked Coe if the Ameca estimate was a mistake, given the large discrepancy in proposal costs.

"He [the Ameca bidder] assured us that he would be able to perform at that amount," Coe explained. "The circumstances are different now, contractors are known to severely underbid the job just to keep work going."

The council decided to avoid re-advertising the work, which would have resulted in accepting proposals from a new total of five interested parties. The council awarded the contract to Grade Tech Inc. for the amount of $309,777.60, and accepted a $20,000 bid bond commitment. The motion, proposed by Councilman Mike Anderson, allowed the council to move forward unencumbered by the topic at the next council meeting, scheduled for August 9.