Council rejects bids for traffic signal upgrades on First Avenue due to high costs

Five intersections on First Avenue East are in need of both sound and pedestrian countdown heads to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but the bids the City of Newton received for the upgrades far exceeded the amount that would have been covered by a more than $102,000 grant.

The bids were ultimately rejected by the city council at staff’s request.

Two contractors submitted bids for the traffic signal upgrade project: Van Maanen Electric, Inc. and Heartland Underground Solutions. Van Maanen submitted the low bid of $287,317 while Heartland Underground submitted a $379,246.32 bid. Plans and specifications were prepared by the city’s engineer, Bolton & Menk.

The City of Newton was awarded an Iowa Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Improvement Program (TSIP) grant for $102,420. The grant is funded through state Road Use Tax funds, and it will pay up to 100 percent of the project and equipment costs for upgrades to pedestrian control devices.

However, city staff said prices were “well over the awarded grant amount.” Staff and Bolton & Menk will redesign the project and rebid it at a future date.

Council member Melissa Dalton asked if the city assumed the bids would be a lot higher and also if it would be possible to complete some of the upgrades. Public Works Director Joe Grife said the project and equipment costs did increase a little bit since the grant was awarded. Additional equipment was also included.

“We will redesign the project, pairing it down and go with a more barebones-type of project, which should get us closer to that original grant amount,” Grife said. “We did speak with a local systems engineer and the grant money still is saved and we still can use it. We’re not putting that in jeopardy by rejecting these bids.”

If need be, Grife added the city can request an extension on the grant money. Dalton stressed the city budget is tight and asked if the additional features and equipment is needed. Grife said the city can still get what it needs without the extra items, like battery backups and camera detection.

“Can those still be added later?” Dalton asked.

Grife said, “They can still be added later, if needed.”

Council member Joel Mills asked if the city would be penalized for not having ADA-compliant intersections. Grife said the city keeps track of all conforming and non-conforming intersections around town. If an audit were to be conducted, the city would be able to show it has a plan to bring them to compliance.