Jim Griewank from J & M Electrical Services in Plymouth approached the Marshall County Commissioners on Monday with several concerns on the LED lighting upgrade lighting project that they have contracted with Telamon Corporation to complete.
Griewank said he has concerns as a prospective bidder but also as a taxpayer in the county. He said the counts on the pre-bid installation form had inaccurate numbers. Griewank said the Court House basement was listed as 13 fixtures while in reality there are over 30 fixtures. He also noted that on the County Garage there are 35 fixtures but there are only 20 in the building. Griewank said he questioned Telamon during the pre-bid hearing and he was told they would just have to submit change orders for the wrong count numbers.
Greiwank has worked on various electrical projects for the county. He said Telamon was made aware of several areas that had already been retro fitted but they were still on the bid sheet.
Griewank said he would step back from bidding on the project because he feels there will be a 15% to 20% over run. He said there is now way to give an accurate bid when the counts are so far off. He noted, in the County Building there are over 100 fixtures that weren’t counted. Griewank said somebody, the contractor or the commissioners are going to be held responsible to the over-runs on the project.
Griewank suggested having the company come back and do an accurate count and give bidders more stable information to bid on. He said he feels there will be multiple change order through the project, and in the end will cost the tax payers money. He was supportive of the project but wanted accurate information.
The bids are due at noon today (12-4-18) and it’s anticipated the contract with the contractor will be signed on December 17th.
While Griewank didn’t think the miss count was intentional, he said Telamon was more than willing to submit change orders to get the project completed.
Doug Masterson from the County’s Building and Grounds said he was unaware of the pre-bid meeting.
While the commissioners had concern on the information presented, they said the contract was with Telamon and that they are hiring the subcontractor to do the project.
Commissioner Delp said, “I can’t get in the middle of their bid process, but I will contact Bruce Breeden about the concerns presented.”
The master agreement said 2,900 bulbs will be changed and the contract amount was $73,502. The rebate will reduce the project by over $9,000.
Delp said the annual savings is estimated at $31,000 annually causing the project to be paid off in 2 years.
Commissioner Delp said he would contact Telamon after the meeting but it was expected bids would be accepted on Tuesday.
No action was taken by the commissioners on the information provided by Jim Griewank of J & M Electrical Services.
