After soliciting construction bids for the play area and pool improvements project at Riverside Park, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) conditionally approved a contract with the low bidder on May 7, 2024. Its bid was within the project budget.
A condition of that approval was for the City of Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights to review and approve the low bidder. Unfortunately, on Monday, June 3 the Department of Civil Rights notified MPRB that the low bidder did not meet the workforce goals for City’s Small and Underutilized Business Program (SUBP); nor did it make a good faith effort to reach out to and negotiate with minority-owned business enterprises (MBE) or woman-owned business enterprises (WBE).
If the low bidder is not able to meet the requirements of the Department of Civil Rights, MPRB may consider the next lowest bid. Unfortunately, the next-lowest bid is $720,000 more than the low bid: a cost increase of more than 54%.
The MPRB is weighing options for re-bidding this project in summer 2024 to ensure bids are lower and within budget. If all bidding requirements are met and within budget, construction would begin in fall 2024.