Newton reconsiders cheaper bid for city sign replacement project

Two months ago the City of Newton moved ahead with a resolution to replace, repair and add new signs to a number of locations throughout the city, at a cost not to exceed $25,000. Originally, Sign Pro, of Newton, provided an undisclosed bid to do the work, but since then another bid was submitted and it was lower.

Newton City Council went ahead and amended that initial resolution on April 7 and changed its contractor to Think-n-Ink, of Knoxville. According to city council agenda documents, Think-n-Ink provided an $18,275 bid while Sign Pro provided a $20,256.10 bid. However, council cannot choose the local option.

Matthew Brick, the city’s attorney, explained the City of Newton’s policy does allow council members to choose other contractors other than the lowest bidder. But there are stipulations. For instance, there must be a less than $1,500 or 5 percent difference in price. As the quotes stand, these options do not apply.

The quotes are for nine PVS sign frames with 4-feet-by-8-feet signs, 11 new vinyl on existing panels and four new sign panels all with installation.

Newton City Administrator Matt Muckler explained that council had talked about the sign project some time ago. When the city solicited bids from two local sign companies, one of them had declined saying it did not fit their business model. The other company, Sign Pro, did provide a bid. But the bid was not published.

“We then had some discussion with council and it was realized we didn’t really have a competitive bid in this situation,” Muckler said. “There was a request to go out and get a competitive bid. So we did that. The second bidder didn’t know what the first bid was, so it came in without knowledge of the other bid.”

The matter passed in a 5-0 vote. Council member Randy Ervin abstained from the vote since Think-n-Ink is owned by his son-in-law.

Newton News previously reported the “Get to Know Newton” signs were going to be altered and repaired using a new layout. The signs were adopted about 10 years ago following the adoption of the Get to Know Newton brand. Many of the signs since then have become damaged or are showing their age.

Staff argued the repairs and replacements are needed in order to maintain a positive and professional image for residents and visitors. The new signs do differ from their original designs but are not significantly different. They maintain the same color scheme but the size of Get to Know Newton logo has been reduced.

As a result, the new signs attract more focus to the facility itself rather than the logo. Text sizes have been increased, too.