Small Public Projects No Longer Require Competitive Bids in La Mesa

City Hall expects to save time and money on lower-cost public construction projects come July, thanks to an ordinance given initial approval Tuesday night by the La Mesa City Council.

By a 4-0 vote, with Councilman Dave Allan on vacation, the City Council adopted a staff recommendation to “opt in” to the state’s uniform public construction cost accounting system—becoming the fifth city in the county to do so.

“We’ve been beholden to the $5,000 limit [maximum for no-bid projects] since it was put in place in the ’70s,” said public works director Greg Humora.

Under the new system, which will amend the Municipal Code, a formal bidding process is needed only for work of $125,000 or more. No bidding is required at all for projects under $30,000. But an informal process holds for projects between $30,000 and $125,000, he said.

In an April staff report, Humora and city purchasing officer Rachel Levens said it takes public works staff three or four months to complete the formal bidding process for construction projects regardless of size or value.

“The process is the same for a small project valued at $5,001 as it is for a $500,000 project,” they explained in the report. “To put it in perspective, the cost of even a simple sewer manhole replacement is over $5,000, which means formal bidding is required.

“For most small projects such as fencing installation and minor building improvements, it takes far more time to get through the bidding process than it does to actually complete the work.”

But under the 1983 California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act, cities that opt-in can use higher limits for no-bid projects and for formal bidding.

Councilman Ernie Ewin asked what protected the system from fraud, and Humora replied that the city was subject to audits by the commission that oversees the  system.

Are the controls tight enough? Ewin asked.

“Yes,” said City Manager Dave Witt.

More than 700 agencies have opted into the system, Humora said, including four other cities in San Diego County (Coronado, Carlsbad, Imperial Beach and Vista).

“Agencies … participating in the Act enjoy the streamlined awards process and greater flexibility in dealing with small public works projects,” the staff report said.

“Additional advantages include reductions in advertising and reporting paperwork and costs. An increase in the threshold would speed up the award process, improve the timeliness of project completion and simplify project administration for small public works projects.”

Earlier, Humora stood with five members of his department as the city issued a resolution proclaiming May 15-21 as National Public Works Week.

That followed a visit from Miss Poppy (Helix Charter High School freshman Leah Murphy) as Mayor Art Madrid read a resolution noting May 8-14 as Poppy Days, an annual fundraiser by the American Legion Auxiliary where red paper poppies are sold for $1 each (with many in the council chamber dropping dollar bills into her donations container).

And Councilwoman Ruth Sterling, a force behind the 1997 founding of the La Mesa Flag Day Parade, was honored by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for her patriotic and cultural activities.

Sterling said she was “a little embarrassed almost” but thanked the citizens of La Mesa for putting her in the position to initiate the program.