Carbondale council approves consent agenda and budget items amid criticism from local bidders

The Carbondale City Council approved the consent agenda including contracts and warrants, but several local contractors and residents used the public-comment period to question the bid process and local-preference policies.

Staff presented the consent agenda and noted multiple items: approval of meeting minutes, warrants and several contracts. Item 7.5 was a recommendation to award a $53,500 contract to McVicker Excavating for demolition of six abandoned residential structures. Multiple local contractors and business owners criticized the procurement process and said the low bidder was outside the city.

"Why is the work getting outsourced to a different county and not any workers from around here?" asked Jeremiah Coontz, identifying himself and urging more local hiring. Kevin Wheatley, a local contractor, said bid documents were misleading and said he had structured his bid to include a 25% DBE component, which he said placed him at a competitive disadvantage.

City staff explained the city's local-preference policy and DBE goal. A staff member said a local preference applies only if the difference is less than $2,000 or 10%, whichever is less; in this procurement the low bid was roughly $20,000 less than the local bidder and no local bidders lived within the city limits. Staff directed bidders with questions to Purchasing and Risk Manager Christy Green for help completing forms.

The consent agenda also included approval to purchase three police vehicles from Vogler Ford in the amount of $147,348 and an accompanying FY2024 budget adjustment; staff said those vehicles had been budgeted in FY2023 but delayed by production issues and are arriving now to replace decommissioned, high-mileage cars.

Council approved the consent agenda (items 7.1 through 7.5) by roll call vote and later approved item 7.6 to purchase the police vehicles. Several citizens asked for more transparency on contracting and suggested the city increase outreach and pre-bid communication to local firms.

What happens next: staff said they are working to schedule a presentation and deeper review on how the city can better involve local minority-owned businesses in contracting and to clarify DBE/workforce reporting; the purchasing office was named as the contact for bidders seeking clarification.