Library Project Bids Far Exceed Estimates – City To Request All Bids Be Denied, Will Rebid The Project In Early 2023

The Library Board met 09/20/2022 and received a brief update on the library project.

Library Director Colleen Rortvedt told the board that bids had opened earlier that day at 2PM and had come in higher than expected. Some packages had received no bids. They still had to figure out exactly where they were and what the strategy going forward would be. “We just kind of need to spend the time to make sure that we’re doing right by the project and being good stewards of public funds and donor funds.”

A board member asked what the timeline looked like at this point, and Director Rortvedt responded that the original timeline had been to bring the bids to the Finance Committee on 09/26/2022 for a vote, but she wasn’t sure if that original timeline was going to remain in effect.

It appears that that timeline is still in place because on 09/26/2022 the Finance Committee will be voting on a request to deny all bids received from the Appleton Public Library project.

Per the memo submitted to the Finance Committee, the Library project “included a total of thirty-eight bid packages. No bids were received for five of the bid packages. We are requesting all bids be denied.

“Many bids far exceeded our estimates, and some were excessively high. Inflation, supply chains and labor shortages are contributing factors to inflated costs and lack of bidding activity. The project team will rebid the project in early 2023.”

View full Library Board meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=920201&GUID=D522770D-80C6-4519-9AED-DBB852289F51

View full Finance Committee meeting details here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=986844&GUID=E6BE4445-738C-453A-9FEB-EB6773BF4826

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