- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Lakeport City Council awards Lakefront Park construction project
The council voted 3-1 — with Councilman Michael Green voting no and Mayor Stacey Mattina recusing — to award the project to Builder Solutions Inc.
Builder Solutions Inc. and Granite Construction Construction Co. were the only two bidders on the project. Builder Solutions submitted the lowest bid, $4,399,381, while Granite came in at $5,396,669.50.
The regular meeting followed a nearly hour-long special closed session meeting called due to the city having received a threat of litigation from the Construction Industry Force Account Council, or CIFAC, which began raising issues about the park project’s bidding last month.
Mattina also recused herself from that closed session and waited in the council chambers for the rest of the council, who emerged shortly after 6:20 p.m. to announce that no reportable action had been taken.
It was not disclosed on Tuesday if the discussion directly related to the Lakefront Park matter.
The city received a $5.9 million grant from the state in January 2020 to purchase the 7-acre park property at 800 and 810 N. Main St. and develop it. When completed, it will feature a number of amenities, chief among them, a lakeside promenade that will link it with Library Park.
The state has a tight timeline for the park’s purchase, planning and development. By the time the city received the grant, it already had done significant planning and public outreach on turning the property, formerly the home of Natural High School, into a premier public facility.
With an extension given by the state due to COVID-19, the city’s fund expenditure deadline has been moved back to June 30, 2024, said Assistant City Manager/Finance Director Nick Walker.
The bid award had originally been on the council’s agenda for July 19, but Granite Construction submitted a bid protest, which led to the council pulling the item at the request of City Manager Kevin Ingram.
Granite argued that Builder Solutions’ bid was not responsive and should be rejected because Builder Solutions failed to provide the Public Works Contractor Registration number for themselves and all the subcontractors. Ingram said staff concluded that matter was immaterial because they were able to confirm those numbers through the California Department of Industrial Relations’ online registration portal.
However, on July 20, CIFAC submitted a letter to the city which Ingram said was considered a bid protest. CIFAC also raised issues with Builder Solution Inc.’s failure to provide Public Works Contractor Registration numbers as well as reporting that one of the subcontractors was not registered at the time of bidding, in violation of state labor code.
Regarding the issue with the subcontractor, Ingram said Public Contract Code allows for substitution of such contractors with consent of all parties, and the procedure for substituting the subcontractor “has been finalized without objections, with Builder Solutions electing to self perform the work of the subcontractor in question, which constitutes less than 1% of the total project cost,” Ingram wrote in his report to the council.
On Aug. 5, the city received a “bid advisory” from the Foundation for Fair Contracting, which Ingram said “addressed concerns of patterns of labor code and prevailing wage violations resulting in penalties, historical non-compliance with apprenticeship requirements, OSHA violations resulting in fines and discrepancies in Builder Solutions’ filing of an exemption from the requirement to have workers’ compensation insurance.”
For its part, Builder Solutions submitted a July 22 letter explaining that the city’s contract documents did not require that the completed bid form include the Public Works Contractor
Registration, or the Department of Industrial Relations Number of either the prime contractor or the subcontractors, but only that they be “currently registered with the California Department of Industrial Relations.”
Regarding the Foundation for Fair Contracting’s allegations, in a separate response letter Builder Solutions said the information presented by the foundation regarding wage infraction and violation documentation was for a separate company, and went on to answer the rest of the claims, saying they were wrong.
They did acknowledge having two OSHA violations regarding failure to notify the agency of permit-required activity and failure to ensure an employee wore a seat belt on a skip loader. The company paid fines totaling $770 and the cases were closed.
After having reviewed the matter and investigated the claims, Ingram said staff recommended awarding the bid to Builder Solutions.
Because the company claims no employees and utilizes a professional employment organization which leases employees to the company as a form of “co-employment,” Ingram recommended the council approving hiring labor compliance consultant at a cost of no more than $100,000 to avoid the potential for violations and claims.
Ingram said the city has a small, limited staff. “This is a very large project for us,” he said, adding that hiring the consultant is a good move to protect the city.
He added that on Monday the city had received another contact from CIFAC, which didn’t agree with the city’s findings on the matter. He said staff prepared a written response and provided it to CIFAC.
During public comment, Michelle Pickens, CIFAC’s executive director, explained that the organization’s purpose is to monitor state and local agencies with compliance with bidding laws.
Pickens said there has been ongoing concern from the construction industry about the city’s plans to award the bid to Builder Solutions. She said the company’s bid was clearly deficient and it should be rejected.
The company’s failure to list subcontractor information and contractors that are licensed and registered should be a major concern to the city, Pickens said.
She said Builder Solutions may be assessed fines due to failure to finish a project for the city of Redding.
Pickens encouraged the city to vet Builder Solutions thoroughly before awarding it the contract.
“Are you really willing to take a chance with the Lakefront Park project?” she asked.
Thomas Adams Jr., Builder Solutions’ chief executive officer, appeared before the council to explain that they had addressed the issues raised about the company’s performance.
Green questioned Adams about the large differences in the cost differences between his company and Granite Construction in the bid breakdown.
Councilman Michael Froio wanted to know if Adams was going to be on site regularly and if the subcontractors would be monitored.
Green said he wanted to reject both bids and put the project out to bid again. He said he didn’t want to punish the low bidder for irregularities but didn’t want to reward them either.
However, Councilman Kenny Parlet moved to award the bid to Builder Solutions, with Froio seconding. Mayor Pro Tem Mireya Turner joined Parlet and Froio in voting to pass the motion, with Green voting no. Mattina had recused herself due to owning property near the park.
The council voted 4-0 to authorize Ingram to hire the labor compliance consultant.
In other business, the council held a public hearing to introduce changes to the city’s sign ordinance to allow signs to be seen from State Route 29 for Major Centers, as well as clarify the maximum height requirements for signage, received the after action report on Independence Day fireworks operations and heard an update from Utilities Superintendent Paul Harris on drought conditions and voted to direct staff to create a drought response plan.
The council also adopted a resolution approving the Forbes Creek Neighborhood Improvement Project Study and authorized the city manager to implement the plan, and approved the purchase of a new Daihatsu mini dump truck for the parks department.
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