Renovation of a municipal facility in Clinton, Iowa. Completed plans call for the renovation of a municipal facility.

https://www.clintonherald.com/news/local_news/county-accepts-restroom-renovation-bid/article_f87131ac-5939-11ec-9671-9fc75588ca90.html County accepts restroom renovation bid CLINTON -- The Clinton County Board of Supervisors awarded a bid to Re-ed Construction for the Clinton County Administration Building restroom renovation. The Supervisors voted 2-1 to award the bid to Re-ed Construction for $100,200. Supervisors Jim Irwin Jr. and Dan Srp voted in favor of the motion. Supervisor Tom Determann voted against the motion. The bid was the low bid that was received before the deadline. The other bids received before the deadline totaled over $117,000 and over $138,000. The county received a bid of $77,504 from Eastern Iowa Plumbing and Heating. The bid was submitted after the deadline. Clinton County Attorney Mike Wolf recommended the county reject all bids and start over for bids. Wolf noted the low bid submitted was received at 2:02 p.m., two minutes after the 2 p.m. deadline. "The bidding laws are designed to protect the taxpayer," Wolf said. "So we have a lot of things going in our favor but that specific statute is very, very, I think, very specific. I suppose we could make an argument but I'm reluctant to recommend that to the county. And I think it would be in the county's best interest to reject all bids because the other three bids were higher than the expected amount. And the other one would not be acceptable because it came in two minutes after the deadline." Clinton County Auditor Eric Van Lancker asked the advantage or rebidding for the project. While the other three bids are over the projected amount, they could be accepted, he said. The county was able to accept the lowest bid they received before the deadline, Wolf confirmed. While Facilities Manager Corey Johnson recommended following Wolf's recommendation and rebidding for the project, he had no issue proceeding with the bid from Re-ed Construction, he said. "You do run the chance that the lowest bidder sees that the other bidders are that much more and he might raise the price," Johnson said. "And you might get the other option where the higher bidders sharpen the pencil a little bit more and lower the price." Irwin referenced the price of lumber rising significantly the last two weeks. The county does not know what the cost of materials will be, he said. The price is constantly changing, he added. Irwin recommended accepting the bid from Re-ed Construction. Irwin made this recommendation because their bid was submitted on time and they are only $3,000 to $4,000 from what the county expected, he said. "My struggle goes back to is that day we probably should have never opened that one," Irwin said. "If that was the case, if we would have never opened that envelope, we would have took this bid." Irwin is correct, Wolf confirmed. "The idea was we worked in good faith to give them the benefit of the doubt for the facts and circumstances as they were presented that day," Wolf said. "And as the facts and circumstances were more fully developed later, it became our determination that they were actually late under the code. And so that's how it played out." If the county would have chosen to rebid the project, Srp believes the bid would land somewhere in the middle of the low bid and the low bid that was submitted before the deadline, he said. Srp can see the cost of materials going up, he said. He supported proceeding with the bid from Re-ed Construction. Determann noted the difference in the bids, stating the county "could have chanced it." ____________________________________________________________________ Project no: 21109 Clinton County is seeking bidders to bid to contract for public improvements to remodel the existing Clinton County Administration Building South First Floor Restrooms, located at 1900 North 3rd St., Clinton, Iowa for consideration by the Clinton County Board of Supervisors (Board) at its meeting on Monday, November 22, 2021, at 9:15 a.m. The County of Clinton, Iowa, reserves the right to reject any and all bids. Bid Security. Each Bidder shall accompany its bid with a bid security as security that the successful bidder will enter into a contract for the work bid upon and will furnish after the award of contract a corporate surety bond, acceptable to the governmental entity, for the faithful performance of the contract, in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of the contract. The bid security shall be in the amount of five percent (5%) of the amount of the contract and shall be in the form of a cashier's check or certified check drawn on a statechartered or federally-charted bank, or a certified share draft drawn on a state-chartered or federally-chartered credit union, or the governmental entity may provide for a bidder's bond with corporate surety satisfactory to the governmental entity. The bid bond shall contain no conditions except as provided in this section. Copies of the Construction Bidding Documents may be viewed at the Office of the Clinton County Auditor, Clinton County Administration Building, 1900 N 3rd St, Clinton, Iowa. Project information will also be posted electronically By virtue of statutory authority, preference will be given to products and provisions grown and coal produced within the State of Iowa, and to Iowa domestic labor, to the extent lawfully required under Iowa statutes. Equipment or products authorized to be purchased with federal funding awarded for this contract must be American- made to the maximum extent feasible, in accordance with Public Law 103-121, Sections 606 (a) and (b). Sales Tax. The bidder should not include sales tax in its bid. A sales tax exemption certificate will be available for all material purchased for incorporation in the project. General Nature of Public Improvement. The scope of the project includes an interior remodel; and the installation of new plumbing fixtures and finishes. No exterior work is included. To View the Building. Building is located at 1900 North 3rd St., Clinton, Iowa Prospective Bidders may contact Corey R. Johnson, Manager, Clinton County Building Maintenance, Clinton County Administration Building, 1900 N. 3rd St., Clinton, Iowa, 52732; office phone 563- 243- 2160 or by email: cjohnson@clintoncounty-ia.gov