Submitting the lowest bid is no longer enough to win a public works contract in La Grange after officials added several new requirements last week.
“Current village purchasing policy requires certain construction projects to be competitively bid, specifically contracts in excess of $25,000 must be competitively bid,” Trustee Lou Gale said introducing the ordinance. “Quality workmanship, efficient operation, safety and timely completion of the projects are not necessarily ensured by awarding them solely on the basis of a low bid.”
Gale joined Peggy Peterson, Shawana McGee, and Tim O’Brien in supporting the new ordinance, with Glenn Thompson and Beth Augustine dissenting in the 4-2 vote.
Changes to the bidding process include increasing the mandate for competitive bidding to $50,000 and adding other requirements, among them documentation that all contractors workers are covered under a worker’s compensation insurance policy, compliance with the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act and evidence of participation in an apprenticeship program related to the work on the project.
Another change proved problematic for Thompson and Augustine.
“Bidder must provide evidence of relevant experience on similar size and scope projects in the past five years that indicate the necessary capacity to perform the project and must provide adequate references verifying the quality of the work performed,” reads the change to existing ordinance, to be found on the Village web site, lagrangeil.gov.
Thompson referred to an earlier presentation from Baxter and Woodman about the potentially high costs involved with replacing lead service lines in the Village.
“We can’t use a new plumbing company until 2030 or 2031,” Thompson pointed out. “Any plumbing company that goes out to work on the water line replacement program will be five or six years into this program. We can never use them under the requirements of this project.”
Pointing out the new requirements included landscaping and maintenance contracts and put the same requirements on subcontractors, Thompson predicted problems would result, adding that apprenticeship program requirements and the Prevailing Wage Act mandate could factor be troublesome as well.
“I think we’re setting us up by going too far into detail,” he said. “We’ve brought in contractors from Indiana. Indiana is a right to work state. We’re going to now eliminate the use of all those contractors.”
Village President Mark Kuchler was strongly in favor of approving the changes without further delay, calling it a “model ordinance that has been looked at by our staff, by our village attorney. The one change that our staff really pushed was the dollar amount.”
Kuchler said nearby communities, including Countryside, had adopted similar ordinances.
Gale supported Kuchler’s position.
“I think the dollar threshold gives us the flexibility that folks are concerned about, it sets a line below which we’re not going to be beholden to these requirements, and I think setting clear qualifications for good, high quality work is good and something we should have,” he said.
The next meeting of the La Grange Board of Trustees will be 7:30 p.m., Jan. 12, at the La Grange Village Hall, 53 S. La Grange Rd.
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
