Decision on Little Blue Parkway delayed

Independence officials have postponed their decision on the final phase of Little Blue Parkway two weeks to avoid the risk of losing federal funding.

It’s the latest step in what Marty Matthews, director of the Kansas City-based Labor Management Fair Contracting Foundation, called “a curious process,” referencing a rebidding of the engineer-estimated $5 million project after it wasn’t advertised as required.

Even City Manager Robert Heacock and City Counselor Dayla Schwartz called the situation unfortunate as they cautioned council members to vote appropriately to avoid possibly losing about $2 million in federal funding that is necessary for the extension to take place. The council will next consider the matter on May 21.

“It’s very unfortunate when there are staff errors associated with any project, let alone one as significant and as high profile as this,” Heacock said. “As much as we try, we have an excellent reputation, and errors do occur. We have taken measures to prevent this particular error from occurring in the future.”

Matthews spoke prior to the council’s 6-1 vote to continue their decision, urging members to reject V.F. Anderson’s bid – which the city and Missouri Department of Transportation have recommended for approval – and to consider a different lowest-and-best bidder from the second bidding process. Once under way, Phase 10 of Little Blue Parkway is projected to take about seven months and will extend about a half-mile north of Bundschu Road to U.S. 24 and will reconstruct about a half-mile of westbound U.S. 24.

Eight contractors originally responded to the first bidding process in January. Those bids, Matthews said, were read aloud, and the city then said proper notification hadn’t taken place, so the bids were thrown out.

The project was rebid in March, and four bids were received from V.F. Anderson, Radmacher Brothers, Kat Excavating and Loch Sand and Construction, all of which had also participated in the first bid.

V.F. Anderson’s bid is the lowest, Matthews said, but is not necessarily the best because the contractor chose to lower its second bids by about 10 percent, based on knowing the bids of others.

“Our question is, what could have materially changed over the course of a month that would let you cut a bid by 10 percent?” Matthews said. “Our answer is that nothing materially changed. ... It’s like betting on a horse race when they already knew who won the race.”

District 4 Council Member Eileen Weir asked John Powell, the city’s director of public works, the same question: Did anything change materially from January to March to cause a significantly lower bid to take place?

Not much changed in those months, Powell said, but the two areas that V.F. Anderson bid lower – demolition and earthwork – are areas in which change orders (items/expenses added once the project starts because of incorrect original estimates) are less likely to take place. The city’s current policy allows large projects to have a maximum of 10 percent of the contract’s amount in change orders.

The city did speak with the contractor to see if an error was made in calculating the bid the second time around, and according to V.F. Anderson, that wasn’t the case, Powell said.

“...We moved forward, based on their assurances,” he said.

At-Large Council Member Jim Schultz asked Powell if he still thinks V.F. Anderson represents the lowest and best bid for the city.

“I do. We made that recommendation,” Powell said. “We have worked with all four bidders ... all four of them could build a successful project for us, but Anderson had the lowest price.”

Matthews also said the quality, quantity and safety of the project may be compromised, pointing to the 39th Street from Noland Road to Crysler Avenue situation in October 2011 in which V.F. Anderson had to tear up and redo the asphalt street improvements project. As with the other construction phases of Little Blue Parkway, two Public Works members and a MoDOT worker will be on-site to inspect the contractor’s work, Powell said.

This marks the only phase of Little Blue Parkway in which a rebid was necessary, as well as the only phase for which V.F. Anderson put up a bid, Matthews said. The city has had satisfaction with V.F. Anderson’s performance on other projects, Powell said, citing that the 39th Street redo wasn’t extraordinary.

“It’s not unusual for months or even up to a year following a project to find something that needs to ... be built correctly,” Powell said. “I don’t believe there has been a higher incidence of that with Anderson’s contracts than with any other contractors who’ve done similar projects with us.”

District 2 Council Member Curt Dougherty, whose district includes a portion of the final phase, voted against postponing the decision, suggesting instead a motion for the council to go with the next lowest and most qualified bidder (Radmacher Brothers).

That motion never took place since Dougherty’s suggestion took place when a motion was already on the floor for the council’s consideration.

“I really think all of the facts are out,” Dougherty said. “...I think MoDOT should respect the decision of the city.”

The vote marked a change in the recent voting norm for the council, as it was the first time in three years that a council member voted against the majority. The last time that occurred was April 2009 when At-Large Council Member Lucy Young and then-District 2 Council Member Will Swoffer voted against the redevelopment plan for the former Independence Regional Health Center, saying the available TIF money wasn’t allocated evenly and fairly.

The additional two weeks will allow city staff to speak with MoDOT and to evaluate what the options are and how they could affect federal funding.

“I think when we started moving things around, like we’re talking about doing,” Mayor Don Reimal said, “(MoDOT) could very easily say, ‘Not with us anymore. You guys just lost $2 million.’”