Resolution rejecting bid for the Riverfront Drive Lighting and Streetscape project.

Adoption of attached resolution.

Bids were opened for this project on May 2, 2025. 16 firms were plan holders for this project. Only one bid was received from Hunt Electric Mankato dba River City Electric for $1,080,392. This amount is significantly higher than both the engineer’s estimate of $868,500 and the approved project budget of $742,000.
 
While bids are not typically received from all plan holders, staff expected more than one bid. Discussions with some plan holders after the bid opening revealed the following as potential reasons contributing to a firm’s decision not to bid on this project:

• The project scope included the re-installation of lights from the Old Town area to existing foundations on North Riverfront Drive. Some contractors were concerned about the adequacy of existing foundations on North Riverfront Drive and the potential risks involved.

 

• Contractor prices for streetlighting and associated equipment are very volatile in our current market. Many of the specified components are most commonly imported and recent changes in tariffs have caused significant uncertainty in the price of these materials. Contractors likely needed to inflate bid prices to cover recent increases and suppliers' inability to guarantee future pricing.  
   

 

• For several of the contractors holding plans, the overall size of this project was larger than the size of contracts they typically deliver. At least one contractor indicated that this contributed to their decision not to bid.

 
Initial discussions have been had with members of the Old Town Association to explore potential changes to the scope and/or schedule of the project to reduce cost and to increase contractor interest. Potential changes discussed by stakeholders, staff and consulting engineers include:
 

• Reduce the Number of Decorative Lights – one suggestion is to shorten the area where decorative lights are installed from Madison Avenue to Rock Street.

 

• Reduce or Eliminate Streetscape Elements – Remove some or all of the benches, bike racks and monument signage.  These elements could be installed at a later date.

 

• Readvertize for Bids When the Bidding Climate is more Favorable – We anticipate that the cost fluctuations of streetlights and associated equipment will eventually stabilize, so bid prices may be lower with more market certainty.

 

• Remove the North Riverfront Portion of the Project – This approach would remove the uncertainty of the existing light foundations, reduce the overall size of the project and may increase the number of contractors interested in bidding on the project.

Staff will review a revised scope of the project for future City Council consideration. The goal of a future project would be to package improvements to meet long-term stakeholder needs and be financially feasible.