Low bidder does not receive cemetery mowing contract

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Seldom does a governing body not take the low bid on equipment, services, etc., however, the Mt. Pleasant City Council, swam against tide Wednesday, opting not to take the low bid on the 2016 mowing contract for the Forest Home and Old City cemeteries.

Four bids were received for the work, and Langan Painting and Lawncare LLC, of Danville, received the bid for $69,500.

Mike Riley Landscape had the low bid at $54,000; Stewart Services, the current contractor, bid $71,500; and Ruth?s Lawncare, of Mt. Pleasant, bid $70,500.

Both the public improvements and finance committees reviewed the bids, and Councilman Steve Engberg, a finance committee member, said the committee had some concerns about both Stewart Services and Mike Riley Landscape.

?We had some complaints (about Stewart Services). I do not know if they were warranted or not,? Engberg said of the current contractor.

A representative from Stewart Services disagreed with Engberg?s assessment, saying he thought the company did a fair job and was willing to rise to the occasion.

Apparently some of the complaints were about grass on tombstones, and the Stewart representative said the company would make sure to blow grass from tombstones.

Engberg said the reason the city did not go with the low bid was because they found out, ?the low bid did not have the equipment nor the experience.?

Mayor Steve Brimhall said the city checked Langan?s references ?and found nothing derogatory. We always try to take the low and the low bid did not have experience and equipment.?

Engberg said the committee scrutinized the bids carefully. ?We looked long and hard on this. We don?t like to take business away from anyone. We have to have an extreme reason not to go with the low bid,? he said.

The mowing contract is for one year.

In regards to other agenda items, the city is hoping the third time is a charm when it comes to receiving a grant to assist with the Jay Street Sewer replacement project. Council members approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign the community development block grant (CDBG) application for the project.

Mt. Pleasant is applying again for a $600,000 grant to help fund the $2.1 million project. Twice before, the city?s grant application for help on the project has been denied.

Brimhall said that if the city does not receive the grant, ?we will be on our own,? meaning that the city will have to foot the entire bill.

The council also authorized Brimhall to sign a development agreement with Southeast Iowa Housing Inc., to construct a speculative (spec) single-family house on a city-owned lot at 710 E. Henry St.

This is a new program through Southeast Iowa Housing, which is affiliated with the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission (SEIRPC). ?Mt. Pleasant is the first community we are doing this in,? noted Jeff Hanan, of SEIRC. ?We hope it will work out well.?

Plans call for a 1,360 square-foot home to be built on the lot. The house, which will be built on a slab (meaning no basement), will be a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a detached garage.

Rules and regulations call for the house to be offered to a family or individual with income 80 percent of the median income or below. Hanan said the qualifying income figure for a single person will be $34,650 and $49,450 for a family of four.

Hanan said bid specifications are being prepared and will be advertised soon. ?We are ready to go,? he remarked. ?We will probably give contractors three weeks to study the bids (before the deadline for submission of bids).?

In final action, the council approved a fiscal-year 2017 airport capital improvement plan and an engineering services agreement with Shive-Hattery Engineering for a nutrient reduction feasibility study for the wastewater treatment plant.

The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) and Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) require the airport improvement plan. ?We need this plan if we are going to go after grant money,? City Administrator Brent Schleisman explained.

Shive-Hattery will be paid $40,000 for the study on methods to reduce the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous discharged by the wastewater treatment plant. The reduction plan is mandated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Council members meet again in regular session on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 5:30 p.m., in the council chambers of City Hall.