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HARRISON TOWNSHIP — On May 12, the Harrison Township Board of Trustees voted 7-0 to go back for another bid to remove sediment in the Archer/Lakeshore canal area as part of a special assessment district project.
According to items attached to the meeting’s agenda, the residents in the district originally had a preferred contractor. That contractor could not take on the project due to insurance and staffing concerns and the residents put in more effort to find another one.
“There was an individual who was interested in doing the work with that new system and the previous contractor had said that he may have solved their insurance and staffing issues, resulting in Wade Trim preparing a request for proposals (RFP) for the project,” the item stated.
“One bid was received on Wednesday, May 7th, but the proposal has not been thoroughly reviewed.”
At the meeting, Harrison Township Clerk Adam Wit said the item went out to bid once, but due to some confusion in the process it went out to bid for a second time. They received one bid, but, after further review, the estimated price came in over what was signed for in the petition, Wit said.
When a special assessment district is set up, Wit said, they get a price estimate and the residents sign on for a specific price. Wit said that under state law, they are allowed to go over by around 10%. However, the total contract cost came in around 20% over.
Harrison Township Attorney Robert Huth set out a few options for the board of trustees. He said the board can go out to bid for a third time or if this is the set number, the residents have to restart the special assessment district process.
The whole special assessment district process, including public hearings, petitions and other things, takes a couple months. The quickest way, Huth said, would be to put it out to bid a third time.
Harrison Township Supervisor Kenneth Verkest explained the board has the right to impose a special assessment, but the affected residents also have the right to oppose it if they have signatures from 20% of those affected. Residents can override the opposition by securing the signatures of 51% of those affected by a project, but the board of trustees can still override that.
Verkest believes raising the price and starting the process again would be unfair and deceptive.
“The other option, then, is to begin the process over again and collect signatures or to go back out for bid again, a third time, and see if we can get a bid that falls within this price range,” Verkest said.
Verkest said the signature process was pretty split down the middle. He reiterated the options and also said it is against state law to proceed with the prices as they are. Wit said they are happy to meet with residents to find a solution.
“I think everybody up here understands the need for it, for that canal out there and we want to see a project done because you guys want to see the project done,” Wit said.
Verkest said the easiest option is to go back out for bid due to the minimal cost. Money has also been spent on various things including notices.
“If the project were to move forward, because we the township are acting on behalf of hundreds of residents, there’s a need for us to make sure that the contractor, whoever they might be, is doing the work as suggested. No different than any project we do,” Verkest said.
One resident in attendance said the canal is in a state where it isn’t usable by boats. He also said his dog got stuck in the muck in the canal and said if he had not heard it, his dog would not have survived.
He pointed to the contingency money in the contract and asked who was expected to take responsibility if the seawall collapsed. He also said the company who put the bid in was proactive, offered solutions for the seawalls and bid it under price.
“I’m disappointed that this is ‘Boat Town, USA’ and this is the best we got,” the man said.
Mike Barnhard, the owner and founder of Sediment Lakes Aquatic Management and the bidder on the project, also said that it was underbid. He said that during a meeting with city officials, it wasn’t mentioned that it couldn’t be 20% over the estimate.
“I did switch liability back. There’s seawalls that are going to fall, old seawalls and things like that,” Barnhard said. “Listen, I’ve been a part of this township for 25 years. I know how things work here.”
Barnhard said he will not be bidding on the project again with the switch in liability and taking the price down 10%. He said he will be working on other projects to help fix the lake.
Verkest reiterated what the law says and that he understands the state of the canal.
“The desire of the township is there to do this work, but I can’t simply ignore the law. That’s the problem,” Verkest said.
