The county has entered into a $3 million contract with Norco-based D. Burke Mechanical Corporation, Inc. to provide mechanical services throughout the county at its governmental facilities for the one year period running from March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. According to Carl Alban, the county’s director of architecture and engineering, the company will carry out the work on the basis of job orders provided to it by the county. Alban recommended that the county board of supervisors “award a $3,000,000 job order contract to D. Burke Mechanical Corporation, Inc., to perform mechanical systems related services throughout the county.” The contract, Alban said, “will include a $25,000 guaranteed minimum value of work to be ordered. The county will provide the contractor with a scope of work to perform specific tasks, and the contractor will provide a lump sum cost for the work based upon the unit prices bid by the contractor.”
Only two companies bid on the contract, Alban said. “On November 27, 2012, the board authorized the architecture and engineering department to advertise for competitive bids. Architecture & engineering advertised for bids in a local newspaper on November 30, 2012, and on the county website. On December 13, 2012, thirteen contractors attended a mandatory pre-bid meeting; of the thirteen attendees, only one contractor had the appropriate mechanical license specified in the bid documents. In an attempt to solicit a broader range of qualified bidders, addendum no. 1 was issued on December 26, 2012, extending the bid date and providing for a second mandatory pre-bid meeting for prospective mechanical contractors who had not attended the December 13, 2012 pre-bid meeting. On December 28, 2012, a second advertisement was published in a local newspaper and on the county website, as well as sent via fax to five companies currently licensed by the state contractors board with the appropriate license. On January 10, 2013, two additional contractors attended the second pre-bid meeting.”
Alban said two bids were submitted to the county by the January 17, 2013 deadline, one from D. Burke Mechanical and another from La Verne-based Los Angeles Air Conditioning, Inc. Alban said D. Burke had a bid factor of 0.7585 and Los Angeles Air Conditioning had a bid factor of 0.7997 and that “staff recommends that the board award this mechanical job order contract to D. Burke Mechanical Corporation, Inc., the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, in the amount of $3,000,000.”