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04/25/2017 12:00 AMSometimes, getting a job and actually wanting the job are two different things. One day after a public scope review meeting on April 11 between North Main Street reconstruction project low-bidder B&W Paving and Landscaping and the town’s project team, B&W withdraw its low bid.
The town received four bids by the March 23 deadline for the project to rebuild North Main Street, adding new stormwater drainage systems, sidewalks and lighting. The lowest bid was submitted by B&W at $875,000, an amount $253,000 lower than the next bidder, Mizzy Construction, Inc., with a bid of $1.128 million. The third-lowest bid came from Empiring Paving, Inc., with a bid of $1.132 million. The high bid of $1.310 million, was submitted by M&O Construction Co., Inc.
First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr., had called for the public project scope review meeting to be part of the April 11 Board of Selectmen’s meeting. As the scoping discussion began, he reminded all participants that all Board of Selectmen meetings, including this scoping meeting, are recorded.
Town Engineer Geoff Jacobson, Finance Director Lee Ann Palladino, Town Building Official Don Lucas, Public Works Director Larry Bonin, Chief of Police Michael Spera, a town attorney from Shipman and Goodwin, and a representative of the project’s inspection engineering firm were invited to participate in the scoping meeting for the town team. Fortuna acted as the meeting’s chairman and facilitator.
“This is a project the town has been working on for 12 years. It is very important to the town and for our businesses on Main Street,” said Fortuna. “The presence of the folks sitting at this table represents how important this project is to the town and that it be done on time.”
Speaking to the B&W Paving representatives, Fortuna said, “Your bid was significantly lower. We just want to make sure that everything was addressed in your bid.”
Jacobson was the first to ask questions of B&W. He first reiterated one project element, the need for the contractor to install a sub-surface stormwater infiltration system eight feet deep in close proximity to already-installed underground utilities. He noted that the contractor would need to plan for and pay attention to the need for sheeting and bracing to support these utilities.
“They’re very close to the sides of the sub-surface infiltration system,” said Jacobson.
The second issue he raised was a logistical one, the management of traffic during the North Main Street reconstruction project. Lucas said that construction on the Post & Main apartments on North Main should be completed by June 1, so construction traffic along North Main for that project will not be an issue. Trips by apartment residents’ vehicles, by train commuters driving to and from the Old Saybrook Train Station, and trips by patrons of businesses in the area will still need to be managed effectively.
“Dealing with the traffic is going to be a considerable challenge. We wanted to make sure you are aware of this challenge. [You’ll] probably need to make gravel lanes off to the side—there is $30,000 in the contract for police protection,” said Jacobson.
Following Jacobson’s questions, Fortuna asked the contractor to speak to comments of project references and Palladino to discuss the firm’s financial capacity to manage such a large project.
The meeting closed with Fortuna indicating the town would be making a decision in the coming days about the project.
It was the next day, April 12, that B&W submitted a letter to the town withdrawing its bid.
Fortuna said that he hopes to complete a scoping review of the next lowest bidder’s submission this month so that the North Main Street rebuilding work could still start by June 1. Fortuna is working with Jacobson to schedule a project scoping meeting with the next-lowest bidder, Mizzy Construction.