DOWNTOWN CIVIC CENTER Youngstown overcomes obstacle in arena bids

A company agreed to accept only the paving and demolition contracts.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city has solved a dilemma that developed earlier this week with bids on the downtown arena project.
The city's board of control awarded Marucci & amp; Gaffney Excavating of Youngstown two contracts Thursday:
UA $407,455 contract to pave arena parking lots.
UA $79,661 contract to demolish two buildings on the site.
The board also awarded low bidder Komar Plumbing Inc. of Boardman a $345,000 contract for underground plumbing. The city advertised that project three times before finding the satisfactory bid.
The possibility of awarding the contracts looked grim Monday.
The problem
The city opened bids for the work and found that Marucci & amp; Gaffney gave prices for all three items. The proposal appeared to be a combination bid, however, meaning the company would do the work only if awarded all three contracts.
Meanwhile, Komar was the only other bidder on plumbing; a western New York firm was the only other bidder on the demolition.
The results posed a problem because the city intended to award separate bids.
The city would have been without a paving bid at all and left with a demolition bid more than $20,000 higher than necessary if separate contracts were awarded and Marucci & amp; Gaffney's combination bid was bypassed.
Komar already was the low bidder for plumbing.
The paving contract in particular was important because the work is to be done by mid-November at the latest.
Paperwork glitch
Upon further review, however, the city discovered paperwork in Marucci & amp; Gaffney's bid that allowed separate contracts to be awarded, said Carmen Conglose Jr., city deputy director of public works.
The company intended to make only a combination bid, he said. But the firm also unintentionally filled out forms to accept separate contracts, he said. The city talked with Marucci & amp; Gaffney, and the company agreed to accept only the paving and demolition contracts, he said.
"This has really worked out beneficially for all involved," Conglose said.
Elevators: a trouble spot
The $40 million project's struggle to generate sufficient bids seems mostly resolved -- for now.
The only remaining trouble spot is the elevators, where two advertisements have failed to generate any bidders.
The city may turn elevators over to a subcontractor. Elevator firms don't often make direct bids on government projects, Conglose said, preferring to work with subcontractors instead.
Meanwhile, the city is to open bids Tuesday for the structural steel that will support the arena. Those contracts are worth several million dollars.
rgsmith@vindy.com