Council rejects two restroom renovation bids after receiving a single bidder

Weatherford council members voted 5–0 on April 27 to reject two separate bid awards for restroom renovations after staff reported only a single contractor had submitted proposals.

Dustin Diehl, the city's director of municipal community services, described the scope for the library restroom renovation as a full gut‑and‑replace job that would include new plumbing, fixtures, automatic sensors and accessible upgrades; staff recommended awarding the library project to MHD Construction for $136,712.69 with a not‑to‑exceed amount of $158,587.69. Council members said the single bid left unanswered questions about price reasonableness. "My only concern, for clarity and just being fiscally responsible is that we ended up with 1 bid," said Councilman Kevin Cleveland.

Cleveland moved to reject the library bid; the motion passed 5–0. The council used similar reasoning to reject a separate $99,169 bid to renovate City Hall restrooms, again voting 5–0 to reject the award and instruct staff to pursue additional pricing or rebid as appropriate.

Councilmembers and staff said rising material and labor costs in the construction market have compressed bidding pools and that staff would attempt to seek additional quotes before returning procurement to the council.