Gloucester Township Council rejected two bids for a project related to upgrading hockey rinks at Lakeland Park during its last regular meeting in December.
Council rejected bids from Area 51 Lawncare & Landscaping, LLC and American Athletic Courts, Inc., according to a letter from The Pettit Group to Business Administrator Tom Cardis.
According to the letter, Area 51 Lawncare & Landscaping submitted the low bid for the project, with a base bid of $73,893.75 and an alternate bid of $49,750 for a total of $123,463.75. Meanwhile, American Athletic Courts submitted a base bid of $175,000 and an alternate bid of $90,000 for a total of $265,000.
Although the apparent low bid for both the base bid and alternate bid was Area 51 Lawncare & Landscaping, LLC, review of the submitted bid by The Pettit Group found that the company failed to include multiple required documents, which is mandatory cause for rejection of bids, says the letter.
According to The Pettit Group letter, Area 51 Lawncare and Landscaping failed to provide a bid bond, a consent of surety, a signed statement of ownership, a completed subcontractor identification form, a certificate of Public Works registration and a completed disclosure of investment activities in Iran.
The second low bidder, American Athletic Courts, provided all the required documents, however, the letter from The Pettit Group indicated that the base bid of $175,000 for the project was “well above the allotted budget set forth by the township.”
Moving forward, the township now has the opportunity to modify the scope of the project and enter into negotiations, first, with American Athletic Courts, as they were the low bidder that provided all necessary documents.
“Based upon… that this is the second round of bids solicited for this project, it is our understanding that the township now has the option of modifying the scope of the project and entering into negotiations with the bidders for the purposes of providing a feasible product that lies within the township’s budgetary constraints,” said the letter. “Therefore… we will proceed with said negotiations on the township’s behalf, beginning with the responsive low bidder.”
According to the letter, if The Pettit Group is not able to reach an acceptable bid price, it will then plan to seek permission to negotiate a contract with Area 51 Lawncare & Landscaping.
According to the letter, the projects include the rehabilitation of one of the rinks at Lakeland Park with a polymer tile decking system, while the alternate bid reflects the cost of re-surfacing a different rink with a high performance, acrylic emulsion system.
