Engineer reports five bids for roadway improvements; board debates low bid vs. local contractor

The town engineer, Rob, told the board the town received five bids for the roadway-improvements contract that covers culvert replacement, ditching and a small reconstruction on San Moro Hill. He said bids ranged "from $463,336 as a low to a high of $618,210," and noted the second-place bidder was roughly "$700" behind the low bid.

Rob said he reviewed the bids and recommended "the low and qualified bidder," but acknowledged a closely priced local firm had community support. Several board members urged the board to consider awarding to a local contractor, citing local tax payments, employment and supplier relationships. One board member argued the difference was "less than a half percent" and asked the board to weigh community benefit against marginal price savings.

During discussion, Rob disclosed that one bidder had a math error on its submission; when recalculated, that bidder's corrected figure moved it slightly closer to the low bid but still remained second. The manager read aloud the published bid clauses that allow the Town of Oxford to "reject any and all bids, to waive any technical or legal deficiencies, and to accept any bid which is deemed to be in the best interest of the town of Oxford, not necessarily the lowest bid." After that clarification, the mover withdrew the pending motion to award.

Board members also discussed schedule and budget: Rob said this phase is "in line, possibly under budget" and that paving work tied to a later package would be scheduled to allow some paving this fall and additional work next year. No formal award was recorded in the available transcript; the motion to award was withdrawn and the board signaled it would revisit the issue after further review of bids and policy considerations.

The next procedural step is for staff to reconcile bid math and for the board to determine whether to award to the lowest qualified bidder or apply the town's discretion under the bid documents.