IBEW Local 697 (Gary & Hammond IN) Applauds "Lowest QUALIFIED Bidder" Award

St. John awards bids for public safety building
BY VANESSA RENDERMAN
vrenderman@nwitimes.com
219.933.3241

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Friday, March 24, 2006 12:36 AM CST

ST. JOHN | Town Council members awarded nearly $5.4 million in construction bids Thursday for a new public safety facility.

The electrical work was the most costly item, awarded to Midwestern Electric at $590,250. At the low end was the access flooring, awarded to Precision Builders at $16,896.

The council unanimously approved the awarding of 30 bid categories, ranging from roofing to floor covering to plumbing.

The approval was met with thunderous applause by the audience, which mainly was composed of members of IBEW Local 697.

The council rejected the lowest bidder for the electrical work because part of the proposal was incomplete and because of concerns about whether prior work the company had done in town was compliant, Town Attorney David Austgen said.

Council President Mike Fryzel said the panel was advised to reject the lowest bid.

"We followed our attorney's advice," he said.

Ray Kasmark, business manager for Local 697, said the union members showed up to support the council's decision on choosing the second lowest bidder because they believed it was a fair decision.

"We're here to support the council," said Joe Pfister, assistant business manager for Local 697.

Several of the bidders already have done work for the town, such as T&K Masonry and Midwestern Electric, council Vice President Jerri Teibel said.

"We're very familiar with their work," she said.

The town will seek proposals for the bid categories that were not awarded.

Construction of the 39,000-square-foot public safety facility is expected to begin in mid-April, Fryzel said.

Construction is expected to take a year to 14 months.


The town has been planning the facility for more than two years. It will house the police and fire departments and other government offices.

BLOG NOTE: Lowest QUALIFIED Bidder requirements save money by eliminating unqualified bidders who would otherwise hamper a construction job.