Findorff considers lawsuit, rebid on Madison library project (UPDATE)

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By Adam Wise

Madison‘s Common Council president wants J.H. Findorff & Son Inc. to file a rebid for the Central Public Library reconstruction rather than a lawsuit over losing the original project award.

“It would cost them money, too,” said Lauren Cnare, council president. “And they have to make a decision of, ‘Should we devote our money to the project or to spend time in the legal system?'”

That’s the question the Madison-based contractor is considering, Findorff President Rich Lynch said Wednesday.

“We just found out (Tuesday) night that they elected not to fight the claim against the unsatisfied bidder,” he said, “so we’ll be talking with our attorneys.”

The discussion, he said, would focus on a potential lawsuit.

“That’s what we would be talking about,” he said, “and to go through that, you would guess, is expensive and time consuming.”

The Common Council on Tuesday night unanimously rejected all five bids submitted last month for the library reconstruction, a project the city estimated at $21.225 million. The project will go to rebid after the city erroneously required contractors meet a 20 percent hiring threshold of disadvantaged business enterprises.

In December, representatives from Janesville-based J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc. threatened to sue the city after it rejected the contractor’s apparent low bid and two others for failure to meet the DBE requirement, which places an emphasis on hiring minority- and women-owned businesses. The other two rejected bids came from Neenah-based Miron Construction Co. Inc. and Fitchburg-based Tri-North Builders Inc.

Findorff had the lowest remaining bid.

Lynch said the city’s redrafted plans would play a role in whether the company rebids the project.

“We haven’t seen what they are going to do,” he said. “If the city will have new requirements, if they will be the same, or if they will change the project — there’s a lot of factors that go into that.”

Bryan Cooper, an architect for the city, said changes to the bid specifications, including removing the DBE requirement, were under way, and the city should advertise for new bids by Friday.

But Cnare said not to expect any major changes, even though all five bids last month came in at less than $20 million and well below the city’s targeted budget. The city, she said, probably would use any savings for contingencies or interior design elements.

“I know we didn’t go forward with some of the furniture, furnishings and equipment,” Cnare said. “And should fundraising fall short, and the bids are really low, perhaps that takes some pressure off that.”

Representatives from Cullen and Milwaukee-based C.G. Schmidt Inc., which also bid on the project, did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.

Karen Schlieve, a spokeswoman for Miron, said the company would bid again on the project.

Tri-North is leaning in the same direction, Vice President Anna Stern said.

“It’s largely based on whether we can be competitive,” Stern said. “Having seen the numbers, we saw we weren’t the low bidder, so you have to weigh whether you can achieve that.”

Cnare recommended Findorff follow suit.

“We all understand a mistake was made,” she said. “If you are the best firm, provide the best price and not take it to court.”

More on the library rebid

• Findorff low bidder on messy Madison library project
• Editorial cartoon
• Findorff considers lawsuit, rebid on Madison library project (UPDATE)
• Madison aldermen want rebid on library
• Library bid sparks potential Cullen lawsuit