The city of Dunwoody has put an end to legal questions by awarding a bid for its public works and parks and recreation services.
Lowe Engineers won the bid to perform the city services for $1.9 million a year for three years, with an option for a fourth year.
“This time we did everything right,” said City Councilman Danny Ross. “We had an attorney sit in for every step.”
City Manager Warren Hutmacher said despite the issues, the bidding process went very well and will save Dunwoody taxpayers money.
“We sort of stubbed our toe,” Hutmacher said. “It took the focus off of what was an amazing accomplishment for the city.”
At its July 25 meeting, Dunwoody City Council voted to award contracts for its other city services but decided to defer voting on the contracts for public works and parks and recreation due to a legal challenge from Lowe Engineers.
Hutmacher said Lowe Engineers was the top-ranked bidder by a small margin based on the point system used by a committee to score the bids. The committee chose to recommend the city award the contract to the firm ranked No. 2, Clark Patterson Lee, because the firm had been awarded other contracts for city services and would provide a discount if it won multiple bids, Hutmacher said.
Due to the challenge, the city decided to start the bidding process from scratch.
This time, Lowe Engineers was again the top-ranked bidder and Hutmacher recommended that the council award the firm the contracts.
The city has also awarded new contracts for finance and administration, planning and zoning, permits and inspections, information technology and public relations and marketing.
In total, the changes will save the city $3.4 million over the next four years, Hutmacher said.
“I think it’s a real win for our citizens,” Hutmacher said.
Dunwoody outsources government services to different vendors for a fixed fee.
The contracts with private firms that provide some city services will expire in December. Following a formal bid process, a committee of four city staff members and three City Council members appointed by Mayor Ken Wright makes recommendations to the council on which firm to hire.