HomeMy WebLinkAbout12 C37040A Response to Protest
CITY OF PALM DESERT
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
To: Todd Hileman, City Manager
Cc: Robert Hargreaves, City Attorney
Andy Firestine, Assistant City Manager
From: Randy Bowman, Senior Project Manager
Date: March 8, 2021
Subject: Bid Protest Received for President’s Plaza East and West Parking Lot
Improvements (Project No. 758-14, Contract No. C38840D)
Background:
The President’s Plaza East and West Parking Lot Improvements project was advertised for bid
on January 29, 2021, and on March 2, 2021, four bids were received via the City of Palm Desert’s
online bid management system, PlanetBids, with the following results:
Contractor Location Total Base Bid
H & H General Contractors, Inc. Highland, California $7,123,393.00
Granite Construction Company Indio, California $8,584,858.00
Los Angeles Engineering, Inc. Covina, California $8,959,000.00
C.S. Legacy Construction, Inc. Chino, California $11,251,554.94
Staff reviewed the bid received from H & H General Contractors, Inc. and determined that they
are the lowest responsible bidder submitting a responsive bid. A staff report recommending
award of the contract to H & H General Contractors has been submitted for City Council
consideration at its March 11, 2021 meeting.
On March 3, 2021, Granite Construction Company made a public records request of the bid
documents submitted by the apparent low bidder, and on March 6, 2021, Granite Construction
Company filed a bid protest. The bid protest letter received from Granite Construction Company
dated March 6, 2021 has already been distributed to the City Council.
Analysis:
Staff has reviewed the bid protest with the City Attorney, and finds that the discrepancies in the
bid forms are immaterial, and do not impact the responsiveness of the low bid. Granite raises
two issues:
• First, Granite protests that the H&H bid was dated March 3, 2021, one day after the bid
opening date. While the H&H bid was erroneously dated, it was submitted prior to the bid
March 8, 2021
Project No. 758-14, Contract No. C38840D Bid Protest
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opening deadline. The staff report includes a report generated from the City’s online bid
management system, PlanetBids, which confirms the low bidder’s bid was uploaded to the
system at 1:52PM on March 2, 2021, the day of the bid opening.
• Second, Granite protests H&H’s failure to include two signatures or a corporate seal on
the bid. This irregularity may be waived because H&H is clearly bound given that its bid
is signed by its president and is accompanied by a proper bid bond securing performance.
Recommendation:
Upon review of the bid protest, staff recommends the City Council proceed with the award of the
construction contract for the project to H & H General Contractors, Inc. and waive the
discrepancies.