Santa Ana : Construction Bidding Reopened Due to Error

A $50,000 mistake in their bid meant that another company won a contract to build the city’s new Business Enterprise Facility, said officials of a local construction firm, so the City Council on Monday agreed to take new bids from all the firms involved.

Tim Fischbeck, president of Fischbeck Construction Co., said the firm’s bid for the project was actually the lowest at $744,722. However, the company came in second to Berry Construction Inc. ($783,511) after a secretary taking figures over the phone on the final day of bidding mistook a message of “5520” for one item to be $55,020, thus adding $50,000 to the total.

“It was a shocking blow to us to find out about this error,” Fischbeck said.

A suggestion that Fischbeck’s bid be amended and accepted instead of Berry’s was rejected after City Atty. Edward C. Cooper said such an action would invite a lawsuit from Berry and delay the project considerably. The facility, which would house new firms for temporary periods and allow them to take advantage of such shared services as shipping and accounting, must be completed this year to use a grant from the federal Economic Development Administration.

The council voted 5 to 2, with Vice Mayor P. Lee Johnson and Councilman Wilson Hart opposed, to reject all bids and have the five competing firms resubmit their estimates within 30 days. Councilman John Acosta said that should be ample time because the firms are “not rebidding a project from scratch” and need only pencil in their estimates again.

The facility is to be a 21,000-square-foot building located on the northeast corner of Santa Ana Boulevard and Poinsettia Street. It is expected to house at least 15 small businesses and open next January.