H-D board voids 3 North Side contracts

 
    Questions regarding the bid-letting process for improvement projects at North Side Elementary led the Hampton-Dumont Board of Education to void three contracts July 7 during a special meeting.
    Contracts for rewiring, projector installation and new cafeteria tables will now be rebid following the decision. The board also voided a contract for a district-wide wireless refresh.
    The move came after questions were raised about the rewiring project. Jeff Christiansen, owner of Advance Tech Solutions, confronted the board in June when his estimate came in more than double that of Dumont Telephone’s winning bid. Christiansen was concerned that he and Dumont Telephone weren’t bidding on the same project details, which led the school district to investigate the issue.
    Superintendent Todd Lettow looked into the matter and admitted that the details could have been explained more clearly when the rewiring project was originally bid. He felt the board should void the current contract with Dumont Telephone and rebid the project, along with the two others.
    “It is important that we have it written down so they know exactly what we want,” he said. “I don’t want anybody to feel that we’re playing favorites.”
    The three contracts were voided on unanimous votes. Board vice president Stacy Miller, who works as a technician for Dumont Telephone, abstained from voting on the rewiring project and projector installation. Board member Kristi Wragge was absent. The contract for the wireless refresh was also voided and will be rebid at a later date.
    Dumont Telephone will be reimbursed for work already completed at North Side. The building has been undergoing renovations this summer to accomodate the kindergarten class' move from South Side this fall.
    The three North Side projects will be rebid immediately with more detailed specifics. Lettow felt that would protect the school and contractors from running into unforeseen costs.
    “We’ll be more detailed, and I guess formal, in that process,” he said.
    Board member Erran Miller was concerned that rebidding the projects could lead to increased costs and delayed completion dates. He was content with providing more specific project details, but felt the board was moving backwards.
    “This is fine, but it just adds costs to everything we’re trying to do. I’m not in favor of that at all,” he said.
    Lettow understood Miller’s concerns, but felt it was still necessary to rebid the projects with more specific details for the contractors.
    “If we went forward with it as-is there would have been no way for us to go back and say, no you didn’t do this right,” he said.
            The three project contracts will be awarded following a formal bid-letting process.