8.5 Construction Bid Charter CITY OF SALINA
REQUEST FOR COMMISSION ACTION DATE TIME
05/22/95 ~4:O0 P.~.
AGENDA SECTION: ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT: APPROVED FOR
ND. 8 City Manager AGENDA:
ND. 5 BY: Dennis M. Kissinger BY:
Item:
Charter Ordinance No. 27 - A Charter Ordinance Exempting the city of Salina, Kansas from the Provisions
of K.S.A. 13-1017, as amended.
The City Commission heard a staff report and discussed this matter at a study session on May 15. This item
involves use of the City's home rule powers under the Kansas Constitution to exempt itself from certain
antiquated and inefficient state requirements on bidding of some city construction projects. These
requirements apply only to fn'st class cities and are subject to home rule action. Our intent is to replace these
rules with local policies for city projects. We will have a policy resolution for City Commission consideration
at your June 5 meeting, at the time of second reading of this Charter Ordinance.
Examples of cm'/rent inefficiencies from using this state mandated system include:
A. Projects over $2,000 in cost require a sealed bid process, often causing delays and inefficiencies which are
contrary to the public interest. Staff will recommend a project amount of $10,000 for sealed bids, with
the City Commission having the flexibility to establish limits and alternate competitive processes.
B. Currently, if all bids exceed the engineer's or architect's estimate the bids must be rejected. This inflexible
rule has been a source of frustration for both the City and private contractors in past years and has
actually cost the taxpayers' money and delays due to repeating the full bid process. The most flagrant
example of this in recent years was a $50,000 city project for which the low bids exceeded the Engineers
estimate by approximately $150; but the City Commission was forced to rebid the whole project. Two
city projects in 1995 have been forced to a rebid situation, with no other options available. Staff will be
proposing alternate procedures for Commission action when estimates are exceeded. Specifically, the
Commission should be able to consider factors such as total project budget, size of the bid difference and
reasons for the difference, then make a decision as to whether awarding a contract or rejecting all bids is
in the public interest.
COMMISS ION ACTION
MOTION BY SECOND BY
TO:
CITY OF SALINA
REQUEST FOR COMMI SS I ON ACT ION DATE TIME
05/22/95 t;: O0 P.M.
AGENDA SECT I ON: OR I G I NAT I NG DEPARTMENT: APPROV ED FOR
NO. City Manager AGENDA:
ITEM
NO.
BY: Dennis M. Kissinger BY:
Charter Ordinance No. 26
Page 2
Recommended Action:
Approve Charter Ordinance 27 on first reading, and direct staff to prepare a proposed construction bid policy
resolution prior to the June 5, 1995 meeting.
Attachment
COMMISS ION ACTION
MOTION BY SECOND BY
TO:
13-1017. Estimate of cost of improve-
ments; contracts; bids; bond issue, when. Be-
fore undertaking the construction or
reconstruction of any sidewalk, curb, gutter,
bridge, pavement, sewer or any other public
improvement of any street, highway, public
grounds or' public building or facility, or any
other kind of public improvement in any city
of the first class is commenced or ordered by
the governing body, or under its authority, a
detailed estimate of the cost of the improve-
ments shall be made under oath by the city
engineer (or some other competent person, ap-
pointed for such purposes by the governing
body). Such estimate shall be submitted to the
governing body for its action thereon. In all
cases where the estimated cost of the contem-
plated building, facility or other improvement
amounts to more than $2,000, Sealed proposals
for the improvement shall be invited by ad-
vertisement, published by the city clerk once
in the official city paper. The governing body
shall let all such work by contract to the lowest
responsible bidder, if there is any whose bid
does not exceed the estimate.
If no responsible person proposes to enter
into the contract at a price not exceeding the
estimated cost, all bids shall be rejected and
the same proceedings as before repeated, until
some responsible person by sealed proposal of-
fers to contract for the work at a price not
exceeding the estimated cost. If no responsible
bid is received within the estimate, the gov-
erning body shall have power-to make the im-
provement within the estimated cost thereof,
and shall further have the power to purchase
the necessary tools, machinery, apparatus and
materials; employ the necessary labor; and con-
struct the necessary plant or plants for the pur-
pose of carrying into effect the provisions of
this act. In no case shall the city be liable for
anything beyond the estimat.ed cost or the orig-
inal contract price for doing such work or mak-
ing such improvements.
Belbre any type of public improvements is
commenced, the money to pay for the same
must be available in the city treasury as pro-
vided by law or provision may be made for
the issuance of internal improvement bonds to
pay for any such improvement as provided by
law. This section shall not be construed to in-
clude any repair or maintenance work not
amounting to substantial alteration, addition or
change in any structure, street or facility.
"Public improvement" as used herein shall not
include the making of repairs or the mainte-
nance of any building, street, sidewalk or other
public facility in such cities by employees of
such cities or the malting of any expenditures
from the city budget for such purposes.
History: L. 1903, ch. 122, § 153; L. 1909,
ch. 68, § 1; L. 1913, ch. 90, § 1; L. 1917, ch.
99, § 1; R.S. 1923,' § 13-1017; L. 1953, ch.
81, § 1; L. 1981, ch. 173, § 35; July 1.
(First Published in The Salina Journal June , 1995)
CHARTER ORDINANCE NUMBER 27
A CHARTER ORDINANCE EXEMPTING THE CITY OF SALINA,
KANSAS FROM THE PROVISIONS OF K.S.A. 13-1017, AS AMENDED.
BE IT ORDAINED by the governing body of the City of Salina, Kansas:
Section 1. Election to Exempt. The City of Salina, Kansas, by the power vested
in it in Article 12, Section 5 of the Constitution of the State of Kansas, hereby elects to exempt
itself from the provisions ofK. S.A. 13-1017, as amended, part of an enactment which applies to
this City, but does not apply uniformly to all cities.
Section 2. Publication of Ordinance. This Charter Ordinance shall be published
once each week for two consecutive weeks in The Salina Journal, the official city newspaper.
Section 3. Effective Date. This Charter Ordinance shall take effect sixty (60) days
after final publication, unless a sufficient petition is filed and a referendum held on the ordinance
as provided in Article 12, Section 5(c) of the Constitution of the Sate of Kansas, in which case this
Charter Ordinance shall become effective upon approval by a majority of the electors voting
thereon.
ADOPTED by the Board of Commissioners by not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the
members elect voting in favor thereof and approved by the Mayor this 5th day of June, 1995.
THE CITY OF SALINA, KANSAS
By:
John Divine, Mayor
[SEAL]
ATTEST
Judy D. Long, City Clerk