CARIBOU, Maine — Councilors last week discussed whether or not a sitting member could submit a bid for a project that has to be approved by the City Council as a whole.
Caribou Parks and Recreation Supervisor Gary Marquis, who advertised a landscaping project to local contractors, said that as long as the council member bidding on the project is not involved in writing the bid criteria and does not vote when the council considers the bids, there is no conflict of interest.
“We received two bids to mow the [Grimes Mill] Cemetery from Memorial Day to the end of September: one from Anderson Lawn Care for $2,000 and another from Jody Smith in the amount of $1,800,” Marquis told the Council on May 8.
Smith sits on the council. Once his fellow councilors were told that Smith had not been involved in the bid process and could not participate in the vote, they voted to award the contract to him as the lowest bidder.
The Council also approved buying a $7,999 Exmark 60’’ Lazer E-Series zero turn mower with upgraded suspension seat from Gary’s Yamaha for city landscaping.
The city’s current fleet of mowers consists of three Toro zero turn mowers, two from 2007 and another from 2015. One of the older models is basically just used as a backup, according to Marquis.
