MORGANTOWN, W.Va. During a special meeting of the Morgantown Utility Board on Wednesday, all bids for the demolition of the Dinsmore Tire facility were rejected, and the project will be rebid.
The project had been awarded to Parrotta Paving for $291,000 on April 11.
The project, a demolition on a contaminated site, is not typical work for the Morgantown Utility Board in terms of design or construction, so the services of Lewisburg-based Greenbrier Environmental Group were enlisted as a consultant. General Counsel Jeff Ray said the consultant used an itemized bid sheet that included an item for mobilization and demobilization when MUB legal documents do not offer a pay item for demobilization.
“It was different from the standard MUB bid sheet; it had both mobilization and demobilization listed, and we don’t do that,” Ray said. “So, we thought, out of fairness to all the bidders, we would reject them all and start over.”
According to General Manager Mike McNulty, the deficiency was discovered when the total contract amount for mobilization exceeded the maximum percentage of the total contract value allowed. Upon closer examination, staff found the improper documents that were inconsistent with MUB general specifications and bid requirements.
“That’s where the confusion came in,” McNulty said. “We understand it; we did not see it on the front end, and we do apologize for that. It was a mistake, and our consultant didn’t inform us.”
Ray said MUB typically does include mobilization in projects but never includes an invoice for the contractor to be paid for moving off the project site when it is complete.
“We do not put demobilization in any of our documents,” Ray said. “It’s not something MUB ever pays for.”
Assistant General Manager and Chief Engineer Rich Brooks said that due to the nature of the project, they went to an expert in the field to prepare the bid documents. In the future, Brooks said staff will take a more hands-on approach to prevent this from happening in the future.
“We thought it was prudent to allow our licensed remediation specialist to lead the bid document phase, and that’s not something we’ll do in the future,” Brooks said.
Morgantown Utility Board Chair Barbara Parsons said this is an unfortunate situation that will be avoided in the future to maintain their working relationships with area contractors, vendors, and suppliers.
“Our relationships with vendors are critical to the work we do, and we want to maintain healthy and trusting relationships,” Parsons said. “So to me, transparency, the correction of mistakes if they’re made, acknowledging them, and moving forward are very important to our integrity.”
General Manager Mike McNulty said Parrotta Paving Company, Inc., has always done good work for the utility, and this is no reflection on their ability to complete this project or any future MUB project they would be qualified to bid on.