Assembly splits over Big Lake road contract; administration will rebid AM2633 after vote fails

A consent-agenda contract award for Big Lake road annual maintenance (AM2633 / contract 26143C) sparked controversy and recusals Tuesday night, resulting in no award and direction from administration to rebid the work.

Assemblymember McKee pulled the item and Assemblymember Sumner disclosed a business relationship with one bidder and asked to recuse himself. Debate centered on whether previous committee/bid evaluations were overridden by emotion and whether the assembly’s prior shift away from a low-bid award undermined procurement fairness.

Proponents of awarding the contract to McKenna Brothers argued community trust and contractor familiarity with RSA 21 work justified the award at the negotiated price. Opponents and one assembly member argued that rebidding would restore transparency after a contested process that had already included multiple bidders and close scores.

The assembly voted on the motion to approve AM2633 and it failed (it required four votes to pass). Multiple members urged administration to rebid and staff said they would do so. The assembly also discussed how to preserve competitive bidding while respecting community preferences for known, reliable contractors.

The manager confirmed administration will rebid the package and evaluate bids under the established procurement rules; members who represent RSA 21 said their constituents favored a contractor with local history even if slightly higher-priced. The assembly did not adopt additional procurement policy changes at the meeting.