Perham residents question bid process
PERHAM, Maine — A contract for road grading has been awarded to Langille Construction, of Crouseville, following two nights of discussion on how the decision was reached.
The issue first came to vote during the selectmen’s meeting on Sept. 2. Attending that session were: Select Board Chair Terry Farley, Selectmen Gregory Snyder and Andrew McLaughlin, Town Administrator Connie Theriault, Mark Malnichuk, Tom Record, Wade Snyder, Tom Goodyear, Ed Clark, Bonnie Clark, Patty Doody, Roger Connolly, Debra Viola and Cynthia Leslie.
Viola initiated discussion about a bid solicitation and contract award that took place recently in Perham, noting a number of town citizens were aware Chris Langille of Langille Construction had been awarded a contract for road grading in spite of the fact Roger Connolly, of Perham Logging, had submitted a lower bid. She indicated Connolly had previously completed similar work for the community and suggested the bid-review and contract-award process had been mishandled by the Select Board.
Leslie followed, stating it was her understanding Langille’s bid was received at least an hour after the closing bid time of 4 p.m. Aug. 27.
Langille reportedly tried to submit his bid to the Town Office prior to 4 p.m. on Aug. 27 but was advised by Theriault to submit it directly to the Select Board at their 5 p.m. meeting. Farley indicated there’d been a typographical error in the advertisement for bids and the deadline was supposed to be 5 p.m.
A lengthy discussion between the Select Board and town residents followed, with the selectmen agreeing to table the matter until 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 3, to allow them time to seek legal advice from the Maine Municipal Association.
All but Theriault and Record were in attendance the next day, at which time Farley read the response from MMA’s Legal Services Department’s assistant director, Richard P. Flewelling.
Flewelling addressed Langille’s delayed bid entry, stating it was an “insignificant procedural irregularity, which, in the process of awarding bids, officials have the inherent right to waive. This is especially appropriate where, as here, the winning bidder appeared at the advertised opening time (4 p.m.) but was told by officials to come back later (at 5 p.m.).”
Flewelling said the second issue, then, was whether the selectmen were required to accept the lowest bid.
“In my opinion, it is both significant and determinative that in their published request for bids, the selectmen expressly reserved ‘the right to accept or reject any or all bids.’ This language freed them from any legal obligation to accept only the lowest bid and instead authorized them to accept any bid they, in their discretion, deemed to be in the town’s best interest,” wrote Flewelling.
“Even had the selectmen not reserved this right — which of course they did — they would have been required to accept only the lowest bid from a responsible bidder. It could well be that due to past performance issues, they decided Perham Logging did not qualify as such,” said Flewelling. “For the foregoing reasons, I believe the selectmen’s acceptance of Langille’s bid was proper and resulted in a legally enforceable contract.”
Leslie said regardless of Flewelling’s email message, she was uncomfortable with the way the contract-award process had evolved.
Viola noted Connolly’s family has contributed to the community for decades, often volunteering and performing tasks, such as mowing the lawn at the town office for free for many years, and that, in her opinion, “history such as this should be taken into consideration when the Select Board awards contracts.”
After a bit more discussion of the bid-review and contract-award process for Perham’s road-grading project, Snyder stated that he was resigning from his duties as head of road maintenance for the town because Farley had “pretty much taken over responsibility for the roads.”
Ed Clark questioned Farley’s purchase of a tamper “on his own,” without discussing it with the other selectmen. Farley said while true, a Select Board vote was only required on purchases greater than $1,000 and that the “machine cost $990 or so.” Clark noted that the last time he bought a tamper, he spent around $4,200.
The meeting then adjourned.
The next Select Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at which time bids for culvert work in Perham will be under review.
