WIUM Local
(2009-11-06)
Keokuk sent out a request for proposals for engineering work on Grand Avenue from 4th Street to 10th Street. The work includes the reconstruction of the street and the separation of the combined sanitary and storm-water sewer line beneath Grand Avenue.
The city received four bids for the project. A formal bid opening took place Oct. 29.
The mistake came about because only three of the bids made it to the opening. The fourth, from Shoemaker & Haaland Professional Engineers, was left in the city hall vault.
Public Works Director Gerald Moughler recommended the city council accept the Shoemaker & Haaland Bid despite it not being opened with the rest of the bids. The city council hesitated, though, over concerns that the bid process had been compromised.
Representatives of Shoemaker and Haaland told the council that their firm should not be punished for their bid being left in the vault. The council decided, in the end, to seek new bids for the project.
Mayor Dave Gudgel says the incident will prompt policy changes within city hall. He expects a requirement that all bids be sealed, that city staff must sign a log after receiving a bid, and that the bids be stored in the same place in the vault.
City leaders did not say when the new engineering bids would be accepted.
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