By By ANNA M. LEE Managing Editor
The Brewton City Council held a special meeting Tuesday morning to consider award of a contract for the first phase of an eight-phase storm drainage improvement project.
This phase -- to improve storm drainage on parts of Davison Street, Bonita Avenue and Hwy. 31 -- was awarded to low bidder Cardinal Contracting in the amount of $377,794.
The special meeting was called to satisfy an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirement that the project be awarded within 14 days of being open for bidding. The eight-phase project -- to be completed over the next four to five years -- is being partially funded by grants from EPA.
The City Council tabled this item at it's last regular meeting on June 22, and learned later that a decision must be made before the next regular meeting.
According to Jenny White with the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission, if the City did not accept the low bidder within the allotted time, the contractor would be allowed to protest, delaying the contract indefinitely.
Council member Dennis Dunaway questioned what the council might do in the future if the low bidder on the project was a contractor who had not done quality work in the past. Engineering manager with CDG Engineers and Associates Troy Hudson said that they could pre-qualify contractors so that the City does not end up with a low bidder who had not worked well for the City in the past.