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Elgin fears union, apprenticeship requirements limit bids it gets

Council questions city's requirements

A recent effort to solicit bids for an Elgin project yielded just one response, which some members of the city council say points to the deleterious effects of the city's bid requirements.

The Elgin City Council approved on Wednesday a $195,000 contract with Mr. David's Flooring International Ltd. of Itasca, which submitted the only bid to replace worn carpet at city hall, The Centre of Elgin and fire station No. 4.

The lack of responses is partly due to the state's prevailing wage law, which requires government contractors and subcontractors to match local union wages, Building Maintenance Superintendent Rich Hoke said.

Most carpet flooring companies are smaller and non-unionized, with crews of two to three people who often get paid by the square foot, not an hourly rate, Hoke said. Also, the economy has improved, so contractors have more work and can choose to turn down certain projects, he said.

Elgin's so-called “responsible bidder ordinance” applies to all construction or renovation projects over $50,000, said Daina DeNye, the city's purchasing officer.

The ordinance requires contractors to submit a 10 percent bid bond, which guarantees they won't renege on their commitment, but some balk at that, DeNye said. It also requires contractors to have an in-house apprenticeship program, absent from many flooring companies, Hoke said.

“This is costing us more than it has to,” said Councilman Terry Gavin, who previously asked for a review of the city's bidder law.

DeNye said she contacted three companies via mail and talked to one on the phone to solicit more bids. Hoke said he was comfortable with the Mr. David's bid because the company has done work for the city before.

City staff members are working on a detailed analysis of costs associated with the ordinance's provisions, a process that will include conversations with vendors about why they choose to bid, or not, on city projects, City Manager Sean Stegall said.

“Everyone agrees the most competitive pricing is the best outcome, but there are other goals met by the responsible bidder ordinance,” he said.

The carpet replacement project could have been broken up in several phases to entice smaller companies to bid, Councilwoman Carol Rauschenberger said. Councilman John Prigge agreed, pointing out that all but one of the individual projects approved as a package on Wednesday amounted to less than $50,000.

Performing work in different phases would be less efficient because the city would have to oversee multiple bidding processes and contractor crews, Stegall said.

“It's not just more work; it's wasteful,” he said. Still, he added, “I do think (the analysis) is going to be a very healthy process because we do want to get the best price that we can.”

Councilman Rich Dunne suggested performing a test for the next city project by soliciting bids both as a package and as smaller, individual projects to see which elicits the most competitive pricing.

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