Dougherty Commission hears recommendations for health department, Albany Rescue Mission projects

Jan. 30—ALBANY — When is a bargain not a bargain? For local procurement officials, a bid for a wall restoration and weather-proofing project raised questions because it came in considerably lower than other proposals.

And, procurement officials noted at a Dougherty County Commission meeting Monday, the contractor couldn't explain the reason for the proposal to perform the work at the county health department building coming in at half the cost of average bids.

In light of that, the city of Albany's Procurement Division, which makes purchases for Dougherty County, rejected that bid and recommended the second-lowest proposal for the project at the county-owned building operated by the state of Georgia.

"I asked them to identify the reason for the low bid," Jody Usry, a consultant for the city, told county commissioners of the bidder, who was not identified. "I just couldn't get a satisfactory answer. I just didn't receive an answer that was viable."

The recommended bid from Metro Waterproofing Inc. of Scottdale came in at $135,000. The other four bids ranged between $142,675 to $297,499.

The commission will vote on the recommendation on that project and a roofing project at the Albany Rescue Mission during its regular meeting later this month.

As was the case with the health department project, the low bidder for the roofing work also was unresponsive and the second-lowest bid was recommended, according to the Procurement Division. The recommended bid from Crosby Roofing Co. of Macon was $57,500. Other bids received were $97,370 and $159,700.

During the time work is taking place, residents at the homeless shelter will be housed in a local hotel.

"We wanted to make sure housing would be available during this process," County Administrator Mike McCoy said. "I will authorize the (funds)."