Leesburg commissioners have chosen to award a contract for aquatic vegetation management to a local company, Professional Waterfront Cleanup LLC, even though it was not the lowest bidder.
City staff had solicited bids for the work and had received the low bid from a company in Sanford, Southern Aquatic Management Inc., and recommended that it receive the contract.
Commissioner Alan Reisman asked that the matter be discussed prior to a vote as a number of his District 2 constituents had raised concerns regarding the unsatisfactory work on pond management by the last out-of-the-area company.
During the discussion, City Manager Al Minner told the commissioners that the city staff had followed the criteria for the bidding process when they made the recommendations. He explained that the city’s bid process contains a provision for Leesburg bidders to receive preference if their bid is within five percent of the low bid. In this case the Leesburg company bid was $73,140, $3,000 higher than the low bid with the 5 percent figured in to the bid. Minner added that Professional Waterfront Cleanup had performed good work for the city and had a good working relationship with the various city departments that had worked with them in the past.
The commissioners voted 3 to 1 to award the contract to the local company. Mayor Jimmy Burry cast the lone “no” vote. Commissioner Mike Pederson was absent.
