TC, Contractor Spar Over DeHart Qualifications
Andy-Matt's attorney argues that his clients are qualified for the job and that the town's qualifications are flawed.
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Effectively, attorney James Bryce spent about an hour talking his clients, the contractor Andy-Matt, out of a job that they didn’t have. At a hearing over contract bids at the July 7 Township Committee meeting, Bryce argued that Andy-Matt, the lowest bidders among contractors vying to rehab DeHart Park, was not, as the town decided previously, unqualified for the work. At the end of his argument, Township officials and employees seemed convinced that not only was Andy-Matt not qualified, but that the next lowest bidder, Turco Golf, might not qualified either.
Last month, Andy-Matt submitted a bid of $1.19 million to complete the project, which includes rehabilitating the field's lights, grass and drainage. The cost for the work was originally estimated to cost approximately $1.9 million. Turco's bid was $1.27 million; a number of other contractors also put bids under $1.9 million.
The Township laid out a number of qualifications for contractors for the DeHart Park project. Contractors needed to prove they had completed 10 similar projects in the last ten years. Andy-Matt, by Bryce’s admission, had completed nine in the last three years. Bryce argued that the requirement was arbitrary, and that Turco had not fulfilled the requirement, either.
The Township Committee appeared to be swayed that Turco may not fulfill the requirement. But, as Township Attorney Roger Desiderio said, that doesn’t mean Andy-Matt would get the bid. Other contractors bid for the project, and if Turco is proven unqualified, the Township would go with the lowest bidder to fulfill the requirements.
“You do not, under any circumstances, have to go to someone who is not qualified,” Desiderio said.
The DeHart field rehabilitation received a further delay, with the Committee, who were prepared to award a bid that evening, deciding to take two weeks to reconsider the bids. The sole conclusion seemed to be that Andy-Matt would not get the contract.
“Your client is not qualified,” Mayor Vic De Luca said to Bryce. “Whether or not Turco is qualified is our job to determine.”
