REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Allow the Withdrawal of a Bid in Conformance with State Law and Reject a Bid Received for the Wolfe-Evelyn Water Plant Reconstruction Project (PW16-20)
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Approval is requested to reject a bid in the amount of $3,525,606 received from Mountain Cascade Inc. of Livermore for the Wolfe-Evelyn Water Plant Reconstruction Project. A lower bid in the amount of $3,285,792 was also received from Blocka Construction of Fremont, but the contractor requested to withdraw the bid in conformance with State law due to a material math error in the approximate amount of $150,000. Staff recommends allowing the Blocka bid to be withdrawn as explained below. The withdrawal of this bid will make Mountain Cascade the sole bidder for this Project. Both bids are well above the engineer's estimate.
EXISTING POLICY
Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section 2.09.140(b) enables the awarding authority, which in this case is the City Council, to reject bids greater than $100,000 received in response to competitive bid solicitations. Furthermore, this Code section provides that "if all bids are rejected, the City has the discretion to readvertise." Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section 2.09.100(c) establishes that a bidder alleging a mistake in a bid may be permitted to withdraw its bid in conformance with State law, which requires the awarding authority to consent to the withdrawal (Section 5101(a) of the California Public Contract Code).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a "project" within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) in that it is a governmental organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The Wolfe/Evelyn Water Plant is one of the major facilities within the City's potable water distribution system. The facility, located at 753 Ajax Dr...
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