Council’s bid questions stall wastewater equipment repairs

City official: Failure of parts would be ‘catastrophic’

BENTONVILLE — The Wastewater Department’s clarifiers need new parts, but there’s debate on which company is best for the job.

Clarification is one of the final steps before water is released into Town Branch Creek. The water is clarified by separating the micro-organisms from it, Mike Bender, public works director, said in an email.

There are several parts 33 years old and need to be replaced, he said.

“Failure of these components would be catastrophic to the treatment process,” Bender said, explaining there is a six- to nine-month wait for the equipment to be delivered. “Operating on this equipment to failure is not an option.”

The process took a twoweek step back when the City Council tabled 7-1 a $431,200 bid from Seven Valleys Concrete of Cassville, Mo., at its April 10 meeting. Council member Octavio Sanchez voted against the motion to table.

Seven Valleys’ bid was the second lowest. Crow Construction of Morrilton submitted the lowest bid at $407,036, according to Brian Rohlman, Crow president. Rohlman and Jack East, a lawyer representing the company, urged council members to reconsider the Wastewater Department’s recommendation to take the second-lowest bid.

Department officials said Crow’s references, which included the city, weren’t complimentary. The company has a history of underbidding then requesting increases after receiving the bid, not complying with safety protocols and completing sub-par work, according to meeting documents.

That information contains “misconstrued and untrue information that I would like you all to re-examine,” Rohlman told the council.

He said workers did comply with safety protocols and there weren’t requests for work to be redone when the city hired the firm in 2016 to repair a crack in the concrete floor of one of the city’s clarifiers.

“There was never a work stoppage or any issue there,” Rohlman said.

The council has to have a good cause and exercise that cause in good faith in order to reject the lowest bid, East said.

“There was no good cause to reject this bid,” he told the council. “You’re costing the city of Bentonville about $24,000 by doing so.”

Previous experience with this firm was “less than great,” Nancy Busen with the Wastewater Department, told the council.

Wastewater workers discovered a leak after the 2016 repair was done. Council members, Busen and those with Crow couldn’t determine at the council meeting

whether the leak was a result of Cow’s work or if it developed after the warranty expired.

“The issue at this time is concerning, but does not obstruct the operation of the structure,” Bender wrote. “We will begin to formulate a plan for repair. This is most likely not directly related to the previous project performed by Crow.”

Bender was not at the April 10 council meeting.

Council member Tim Robinson said he would like extra time to receive more information before approving a bid for the project as long as it wasn’t time sensitive.

Quotes for the equipment expire April 15, and the bids are good for 90 days, officials said.

The item is expected to be on the April 24 agenda.

The city has two clarifiers, Bender said. Draining them for extended periods can only be done during low-flow months, which are typically between July and September.