2. Reject Bids - AmbulanceKALISPELL FIRE DEPARTMENT
Randy Brodehl ---- Fire Chief u
Daniel Diehl -�- Assistant Chief/Operations ," a Ms s
PO fax 1397
312 Fib Avenue East
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DC Haas —Assistant Chief/Prevention � .,� - �_�
Kalispell, Montana 59901
Timothy Soule — Training Chief s "
Phone: (406) 758-7760
a�ski
FAX: (406) 758-7952
9/26/2007
To:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
COUNCIL MEETING DATE:
Mayor Pamela B. Kennedy
and Kalispell City Council
Fundy Brodehl, Fire Chief
James H. Patrick, City Manager
Ambulance bid rejection
October 1, 2007
BACKGROUND: The Kalispell Fire Department has received three bids for a new
ambulance. The bids did not meet requirements of the city. The department is requesting
that all bids be rejected.
Respectfully submitted,
OCa*�rodehl, Fire Chief James H. Patrick, City Manager
City of Kalispell
Charles A. Harball office of City Attorney
City Attorney 312 First Avenue Bast
P.O. Box 1997
Kalispell, MT 59903-1997
MEMORANDUM
Date: September 26, 2007
To: James H. Patrick, City Manager
„ Theresa White, City Clerk
From Charles A. Harball, City Attorney
Tel 406.758.7708
Fax 406.758.7771
charball@kalispell.com
Subject: Request for Bids for Ambulance by Kalispell Fire Department
The City published a request for bids for an ambulance which received a
response from three bidders. The City Clerk requested that I scrutinize the
particularities of this bid when it became evident to her that there were some
apparent irregularities in this process. I discovered the following deviations:
The bid packages were not receipted in to the Clerk's office at the time of
arrival. The ink used on one package was not legible and therefore was
prematurely opened to determine the contents. Another bid, although timely
received by the City, found its way to the wrong office and did not arrive at the
Clerk's office until after the bid opening.
Based upon my investigation, the particulars of this bid receipt are an anomaly
for the City and not an indication of some larger problem of process requiring any
extensive remediation. However, it is critical to the fundamental fairness of the
bidding system and how it is perceived, particularly by the participating bidders,
that irregularities, such as these, be addressed appropriately. I, therefore,
recommend that the bids and bid bonds that the City received be returned to the
bidders and that the City, if it still wishes to purchase an ambulance, begin the
process again and reissue its request for bids.