The Crossville City Council has awarded a $1.27 million bid for replacing Brookhaven Drive and Highland Lane waterlines.
City Engineer Tim Begley said that figure actually represents the second low bid.
“I can’t recommend the low bidder on this project,” Begley said. “The last project that they worked on for the city, they came to me eight months after the completion date and said they didn’t have the money to finish the project. We (the city) spent $30,000 on additional contract administration and over $20,000 in city crews finishing the project out.”
The city also discovered three discrepancies throughout Norris Brothers Excavating’s $1.08 million low bid.
“We had re-issued a bid proposal that all the bidders had to utilize, which the low bidder not not utilize that entire corrected proposal,” Chuck Burgess with Environmental and Civil Engineering Services of Crossville said. “Another issue was they did not list any of their proposed subcontractors.
Burgess said the company also listed itself as a partnership when its actually registered as an LLC with the state.
City council approved the second low bid and a budget amendment for the project during last month’s meeting. Iron Wood Construction & Engineering will be in charge of the project.