CLEARFIELD – Due to a discovered error in the proposed high school re-roofing bid amount, the Clearfield Area School District Board of Directors unanimously agreed to rescind the previous award to R.H. Marcon, Inc., of State College, at a special meeting Monday night.
In addition, the board then unanimously agreed to reject all of the project’s initial bids. In doing so, they followed by authorizing for the project to be re-bid with a receipt date of Wednesday, May 19.
At its April 26 meeting, the board proceeded forward with the high school re-roofing project, accepting the low bid from R.H. Marcon, Inc.
During his presentation, J. Greer Hayden, of HHSDR Architects/Engineers, reviewed the bids for the project. In his bid summary, he indicated R.H. Marcon, Inc. proposed a total roofing construction contract in the amount of $1,653,810.
Further, he indicated that their Base Bid B for a Garland Hot Asphalt Roofing Application was set in the amount of $1,998,940.
He said their Alternative No. 1B was for the Substitute Tremco hot adhesive applied, modified built-up roof membrane with the deduct of $345,130.
On Monday, Hayden said they have since realized the bid amount was incorrect. He said R.H. Marcon Inc. should have had a bid total that read in the amount of $1,853,130.
Hayden explained that the $345,130 amount was deducted from Base Bid B. However, he said it should have been deducted from Base Bid A.
“It now exceeds the budget that we’ve put together,” Hayden said of the revised bid amount. He said R.H. Marcon, Inc. was unwilling to accept the present bid contract.
Hayden said the board could either accept the revised bid amount in the area of $1.8 million, or they could rescind the prior motion. He said if they chose to re-bid the project, they could still meet the project deadline.
But Hayden said he sought two different completion deadlines for the project. He said if it would stretch into September, the cold adhesive application may be cheaper. He said they could explore it during the re-bid process.
Paul J. Tomczuk, vice president/general counsel for R.H. Marcon, Inc., addressed the board about the error in the bid amount. On bid day, he said they realized the inconsistency between the specifications and bid form.
Tomczuk said they preferred not to alter from the guidelines that were given on the bid form. He said if contractors do so, it can be grounds for rejection of the bid.
“It’s why we filled it out the way we did,” he said. He said they received the contract and realized the problem. He said he hoped the board would consider accepting the new amount.
Tomczuk said their $1.8 bid amount is still substantially low in comparison to the others received by the district. Board President Dave Glass inquired if R.H. Marcon, Inc. recognized the problem on bid day.
Tomczuk said they’ve completed various bid forms. He said if they must only submit base bids, it is all clearer for them. In the past, he said they’ve never came across a scenario, where they saw a discrepancy between the specifications and bid form.
Tomczuk admitted they didn’t contact HHSDR Architects/Engineers about the discrepancy. “To be quite honest,” he said they assumed, which wasn’t their intention.
Solicitor Aimee Willett advised the board that they had reserved the right to reject all bids. She said it was legal for them to reject all and re-bid.
Willett noted they’re not guaranteed the bids will come in the same. She said they’re also not guaranteed that the bids won’t come in higher.
“They had 10 days and said nothing. They saw it and didn’t call. It would have taken all but 10 seconds,” Glass said. He said the project was too big of a deal to just accept the revised bid amount from R.H. Marcon, Inc.