Perrysburg Twp. trustees will rebid $3.7M administration building project

The process to build a new Perrysburg Township administration building has reversed.

At this week’s meeting, the trustees voted to rebid the $3.7 million project after an attorney for one of the companies that was not awarded the construction bid complained about the process.

The bid had been awarded to Rudolph Libbe Inc., of Walbridge, Ohio, on June 5.

“Since that time, one of the other firms has contested the proposal, saying that it had deficiencies,” said township Administrator Jon Eckel. “I have talked with our attorneys and to avoid any future problems or issues with this, we have decided that we will redraft that proposal.”

After the township lawyers’ review, they will ask for proposals again from the three finalists, Mr. Eckel said. They will be given three weeks to respond.

Trustees Bob Mack and Gary Britten approved a motion to rescind the bid award to Rudolph Libbe. Trustee Joe Schaller has abstained on all votes related to this because his brother works for Rudolph Libbe.

“It’s unfortunate that this happened,” Mr. Mack said.

In a June 11 letter, an attorney with Bricker Graydon LLP, of Columbus, said the township's procurement process was defective for three reasons, and the contract should be awarded to Miller Diversified Construction Co.

The request for proposals does not comply with the Ohio Revised Code or the Ohio Administrative Code; Rudolph Libbe's proposal is nonresponsive; and the process gave Rudolph Libbe an unfair competitive advantage over the other proposers, the attorney said.

“As a result, MDCC (Miller Diversified) requests that the Township either reject Rudolph Libbe's proposal and award the Project to MDCC or begin the procurement process anew. In no event, however, should Rudolph Libbe be awarded a contract for the Project based on the procurement process administered to date,” the attorney said.

The attorney’s letter also said that Rudolph Libbe was permitted to operate under a different set rules than the other proposers, and it gave it an unfair competitive advantage. In regard to pricing, Rudolph Libbe's proposal provided a lump sum. The township’s proposal request called for unit prices, not a lump sum, the attorney wrote.

An email was sent to the attorney seeking additional comment on Friday.

Rudolph Libbe’s communications manager, in a statement said, “From Rudolph Libbe’s perspective, we believe we responded in accordance with the request for proposal from Perrysburg Township. However, it is up to Perrysburg Township on how to proceed.”

After the meeting, Mr. Eckel said Rudolph Libbe, Miller Diversified, and Comte Construction submitted bids to construct the new township building.

Proudfoot Associates, DGL Consulting Engineers, and Tetra Tech were asked to review the proposals, along with Mr. Eckel and the township’s building/maintenance professional. The vote was 4-1 to award the contract to Rudolph Libbe, Mr. Eckel said. DGL voted for Miller Diversified, he said.

“The rating was very close,” Mr. Eckel said. “They’re all qualified to do the work. They’re all good firms.”

“But we want to make sure that there’s no issues or discrepancies, so we’re going to go out and do it again. It’s unfortunate. It’s going to cost me a month or two, but we want to do the right thing,” he said.

Some of the criteria for picking a construction firm are safety record, professionalism, qualifications, unit price, “and just their overall management philosophy,” he said.

Mr. Eckel had asked for a vote to hire Rudolph Libbe at the May 15 trustees meeting. Mr. Mack and Mr. Britten said they needed time to read through the proposal, which they said they had received the day before.

Mr. Mack and Mr. Britten approved awarding the bid to Rudolph Libbe on June 5.

Also Wednesday, the trustees officially approved designating $1.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the building project.

The new, 10,000-square-foot administration building will be constructed on the south end of the Lime City Road campus, which also includes the police and fire facilities. It will also house the township’s communications center for emergency services, which is now in the police department’s space.

The existing building, which is 16,000 square feet, will be kept and used for storage.