Los Lunas board denies contracts to low bidders

June 24, 2009

The Los Lunas Schools Board of Education has denied two low-bidding companies fencing contracts.

After a debate last week among board members, Board President Ed Hernandez and members Maria Marez and Christopher Martinez voted to not award fencing contracts to Albuquerque Fence Company and Valley Fence Company. Members Art Castillo and Frank A. Otero voted to award the contracts.

The district called for bids several weeks ago, asking companies to provide general bids for fencing work. Had the contracts been awarded, the companies would have needed to be available to the district to build or repair fences if called upon. The contracts wouldn’t have specified where or when fences were needed or how much work the companies would actually be called upon to do, district officials said.

Because the district spent more than $95,000 on fences last fiscal year at various sites, the district was attempting to save time during the next fiscal year by avoiding a bidding process each time it wanted a fence built. Officials were also hoping to save money by having one or two catch-all contracts for all fencing work, particularly at a time when the slow economy means bids for construction projects are coming in lower than normal.

After debate, however, three board members defeated the effort. They never expressed a reason for their votes, but before the vote, the board engaged in a 40-minute discussion about local companies not getting enough district contracts.

Board members were under the impression the two low-bid companies weren’t local. The district’s Department of Finance and Operations assistant superintendent, Mario Guggino, said Valley Fence Company is a local company, with an office in Belen. Bids from the company typically come out of an Albuquerque office.

Hernandez pressed the issue more than other board members, asking how many local companies submitted a bid. Guggino said three locals bid, including Holliday Fence Co., which later retracted its bid for unknown reasons. Guggino said the bid from one of the local companies was almost twice as high as the two low-bid companies.

Marez also spoke out about wanting contracts to go to local companies.

Guggino said the district was planning workshops for local companies during the summer to educate them on the bidding process, so they would be better able to successfully compete for contracts.

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