Bids to maintain groundskeeping on city properties for two years were submitted and opened last month.

After review, City Administrator Jim Arndt found that the lowest bid, submitted by AKO Lawn Service, Lonedell, at $460 for the year. The bid was more than $1,000 less than the next lowest, Patton's Nursery.

However, AKO's bid left two city properties out of their offer, a stipulation that Arndt said was allowable.

AKO's bid left off work at city hall and the water treatment plant.

Arndt said he contacted AKO to see why they didn't bid on those two parts of the contract and they said they didn't want to "put all of their eggs in one basket."

Arndt speculated that the company had other contracts and were afraid of putting all their resources into one large contract.

"Since there were so many projects involved, I said not bidding on all projects wouldn't be held against them," he said.

Arndt advised alderman to take AKO's bid then offer a partial contract to Patton's for city hall and the treatment plant.

Alderman Don Pierce spoke out against the recommendation, saying Patton's should get the bid since they bid on all parts of the contract.

Pierce added that he thought the last time they opened the landscaping project up for bids, Pattons was awarded because they had bid on all the work.

Following the meeting, Arndt said that last year AKO bid on less than half of the needed jobs, and even on some of those, their bid was higher than Patton's.

Arndt said this year, AKO bid lower on all of the jobs they submitted, only decling on two.

"It seems to me like he (AKO) doesn't want the job," Pierce said.

"It's not that he doesn't want the job," Alderwoman Connie Marrocco countered. "It's just that he has other projects going on and he wouldn't be able to complete all the jobs in a timely manner."

Alderwoman Cherie Counts agreed with Pierce that she'd rather see the same company do all the work.

Arndt said that the next time he seeks bids on the project, it'll be different.
"On the next contract, I'm going to make sure that it is a requirement that they have to bid on all of them," he said.

City Attorney Kurt Voss said that since the city promised that it wouldn't be held against the business if they didn't bid on everything, that promise has to be abided by.

"We need to go with the lowest bid unless we find that he's not qualified to do the job and I truly believe that he's qualified to do the job," Arndt said.

Arndt's recommendation passed with Pierce as the only dissenting voter.