Greer council approves $127,999 City Hall renovation contract after debate over ineligible bids and June 30 deadline

The Greer City Council voted to award the City Hall interior renovation contract to PNF Construction LLC for $127,999, approving staff’s recommendation despite questions about why only one compliant bid remained. The motion passed by roll call, five in favor and two opposed.

City project staff told council the Capital Projects Department solicited sealed bids for Project 202616 and received three submissions. Miss Carmo, who presented the award recommendation, said 16 companies attended the pre-bid meeting but only three submitted bids and the two lowest bids were ruled ineligible. “We had 16 companies show up at the pre-bid meeting,” Miss Carmo said, and the evaluation led staff to recommend PNF as the compliant bidder.

Council members pressed staff on why bids were ineligible and whether the June 30 funding deadline—tied to the fiscal-year budget—forced a compressed schedule that discouraged bidders. John Gogenau, part of the project team, said the lowest bidder failed to meet the solicitation’s required final-completion date and the second-lowest was judged ineligible based on recent performance on a similar project. “There is liquidated damages… they are an incentive to meet the deadline,” Gogenau said when council asked how the city enforces timing.

Council debate focused on whether insisting on June 30 completion to avoid carrying funds into the next fiscal year was worth a potential premium. Several councilmembers urged staff to examine whether the capital program should allow multi-year projects or a dedicated capital fund so projects need not be forced into a single fiscal year. Staff responded that the project was budgeted in the current year and under budgeted amount, and that the recommended contractor committed to meet the stated schedule.

The council called the question and voted: Mr. Hopper and Mr. Lander voted no; Mr. Awood (recorded as yes), Mr. Booker, Mr. Bettis, Mr. Lamb and Mayor Danner voted yes, resulting in approval.

The contract covers renovation work on City Hall’s third floor including conversion of a storage room into office space, creation of a new conference room, two offices, and upgrades to the mail/records room, according to staff. Staff said liquidated damages and retainage provisions are included if the contractor misses the deadline. The council did not revise the award decision and directed staff to move forward.