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Board gets lowdown on waterproofing bid
(by Tony Lange - March 28, 2012)
Board gets lowdown on waterproofing bid
By TONY LANGE
The Solon School Board requested more information about bid discrepancies last week before voting unanimously to award a $268,400 contract for waterproofing at Arthur Road Elementary School.
While five contractors showed interest in the project at a pre-bid meeting, only two made offers, school officials said. Whitehouse Construction Co. bid $268,400, and the other bid came in at $418,000.
The estimated cost of the project was $300,000, Assistant Superintendent Thomas W. Stupica said.
When there is a wide range between bids like the $150,000 gap for the waterproofing project, it often indicates that there is a bidding issue, he said.
"Sometimes what that means is the contractor that is bidding it low didn't bid it properly," Mr. Stupica said. "Maybe they left something out. Maybe they're not going to do it right, because they didn't understand the project. In this case, it's the opposite. The high bidder was the one who really didn't either understand it or was a little concerned about something, and they bid very high."
Whitehouse Construction understood the project and knew what it was getting into, because it completed the east side of the Arthur Road School waterproofing project last year, he said.
Whitehouse thought there was going to be more competition than there was, Mr. Stupica said.
"When they showed up at the bid opening, they were a little disappointed, because they could have bid higher and got little bit more money, but that's the way it goes, and that's the way the bid process works," he said. "In this case, we ended up with an excellent price. We have an excellent contractor. I don't have any doubt that they're going to be able to do the work for that price."
For several years now, there has been water draining through the bottom-level blocks of the elementary school where the cafeteria is located partially underground, Mr. Stupica said.
The school was built in the 1960s, and over time draining issues on the east side, where the city's outdoor pool is, and on the west side, where the courtyard is, have become problematic, he said. The lower-lever concrete blocks become saturated, and water leaks in during heavy rains, he said.
"When that happens, obviously, water can come in, and if water gets into that block, it starts to deteriorate that block, and at some point you're going to have a structural problem, which then would be really costly," Mr. Stupica said. "Efflorescence, or that white powder, has formed on the blocks. So we know we have moisture and we've got to make sure to get it dry."
Whitehouse Construction took care of the east side of Arthur Road School last year by excavating along the building, putting in some waterproofing material and some new concrete with a new retaining wall, Mr. Stupica said.
"We're planning on doing that same thing on the west side, and, fortunately, the same contractor got the project," he said. "They kind of know what they're getting into, and they can price it pretty well."
After the pre-bid meeting when the project was explained to various contractors, those that were still interested had to submit a concealed bid by noon on a particular day, Mr. Stupica said. If all bids are more than 10 percent of the estimated value, there's a law that would allow school officials to throw those bids out, he said.
"I think the reason that other companies did not bid is because they knew Whitehouse was there, and they knew Whitehouse did our other project last year, and I think when they got down to it they felt, I don't know this project well enough, and I'm probably going to add more to it, and I'm probably not going to be able to get it anyway," Mr. Stupica said.
Prior to the school board approval, district Treasurer Timothy Pickana said he is required to go to the Ohio Auditor of State and acquire the recovery database.
"I have to search the specific contractor that the board would be voting on to make sure there isn't any type of finding for recovery for an individual related with this company or an owner for this company and to make sure that they are up with all of their finances," he said.
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