March 2, 2009

Contractor loses $480,000 job because of paperwork

Here's an article I wrote for The Daily Reporter construction newspaper about a Racine contractor losing a job because he failed to fill out the appropriate paperwork. The contractor had the low bid, but the Racine Water Utility had to reject their offer because it did not strictly follow the rules. Another Racine contractor, AW Oakes and Son, won the contract instead.

Link

10 comments:

  1. Finding a flaw in the paperwork is the usual way of getting rid of the low bidder. A little cash under the table helps too!

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  2. Finding a flaw in the paperwork is the usual way of getting rid of the low bidder. A little cash under the table helps too!

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  3. You nailed this one Anonymous - Woodland Hills does not belong to the 'Friends of Racine Water & Wastewater' good 'ole boys unlike A.W. Oakes & Son.

    Follow the money....

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  4. Dustin: Where can a person MAIL a hot tip you guys?? I asked before, but you never answered me.

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  5. If you can't follow the rules on the bid - what will happen with the contract? Low bid comes in and then - wait for it - here come the change orders...

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  6. Anon 4:20 Mail sent to racinepost@gmail.com goes to both of us with the speed of light ... um, electrons. Hot tips gratefully accepted.

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  7. Rules are rules. The integrity of the bidding process is compromised when you start bending them for any company. I don't buy the "cash under the table" notion. I have no allegiance to Woodland or Oakes. Right now, this looks like a hard lesson learned for Woodland. If they can get a different outcome by going to court, more power to them.

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  8. Racine might be corrupt? Next your be saying that Mayor Becker likes little girls

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  9. Having read the article, and knowing a little about what was going on beforehand, there's more here than meets the eye. ONE: "Racine's water utility has used its spec book for decades, Haas said." Get with the times, Racine, you wouldn't need to even print a book if it were online-let the contractor print it at his cost if he's interested. TWO: Woodland Hills contacted me beforehand and said they weren't going to be accepted as a responsible bidder because they were "too small." This was AFTER they had already been approved as "responsible." They wondered if we had heard about this ever before...
    Oakes is experienced, and a regular customer of ours. So is Woodland Hills. But all of our taxes could use savings here and there, and if "responsible" bidders can save us tax dollars, why are we nitpicking what form it was on? SURE GLAD THE WATER DEPARTMENT CAN SPEND AN EXTRA $20000 'cause they didn't like the ten cents of paper the bid was printed on. The fact that the bidding was this close kind of proves Woodland Hills knows what's involved. I have to go ANON or I might lose business from any of the above.

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  10. You know perhaps we need to investigate how the City does business, might need to free up more jail cells.
    Makes me think too do we really need any of the Becker's Good old boys as Mayor?
    Or a real estate developer as Mayor?

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