(Nov. 20, 2014) Less than a month after the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors questioned its own “Request for Proposals” (RFP) procedures, the community appears to have found corrective action.
In October, the board reviewed a single bid for the new White Horse Boat Ramp and then balked as the questioned whether the bid qualified as sole source. The board called a special session a week later and accepted the bid, but continued to question procedure.
This month, Ocean Pines received another single bid, this one to award an exclusive three-year franchise to collect refuse and recycling in the community.
“We would have opened [bids] Friday, but as of 1:30 Friday we only had one sitting on the desk,” General Manager Bob Thompson said during a town hall meeting on Thursday, Nov. 13. “Given the last RFP with only one bidder I said, ‘We’re going to wait.’”
Instead of opening the bid, Thompson re-sent the requests for proposals and received four bids in return.
“We’re going to open them Wednesday,” he said. “I’d like to have that done by midweek so we can give something to the board of what, at least, is available to us.”
Board President Dave Stevens was cautiously optimistic the association had improved its RFP process.
“They’re two different things – a service bid and a construction bid,” he said. “To a certain extent, what Bob [Thompson] did get was the idea that we’re just not going to give blanket approval to everything he says.”
Director Bill Cordwell did not see a problem with opening the single bid on White Horse.
“I don’t know that any lessons can be learned from the boat ramp thing other than we live on the Eastern Shore. We’re sometimes not going to catch three bids for everything,” he said. “Resources down here are limited, and if people are going to come across the bridge to do our work, they’re not doing that for free. Sometimes we’re just not going to get three bids for everything.”
At least one board member wondered whether the limited timeframe prevented more bidders from biting on the White Horse project.
“We would hope the result is that there would be more attention paid up front to the question of getting four bids,” Stevens said. “That can be done by expanding your bidders list, for example, and mapping out the time flow of these things.
“I’m satisfied with it given where we were at the time, we had to make a decision,” Stevens continued. “The board voted for it in the end once we were satisfied. Putting bidders at a disadvantage wasn’t the reason that we only got one bid – at least it wasn’t a very strong one. I’m satisfied. Happy – I don’t want to say that.”
The board will likely review the trash RFP during the next regular meeting on Saturday.
In October, the board reviewed a single bid for the new White Horse Boat Ramp and then balked as the questioned whether the bid qualified as sole source. The board called a special session a week later and accepted the bid, but continued to question procedure.
This month, Ocean Pines received another single bid, this one to award an exclusive three-year franchise to collect refuse and recycling in the community.
“We would have opened [bids] Friday, but as of 1:30 Friday we only had one sitting on the desk,” General Manager Bob Thompson said during a town hall meeting on Thursday, Nov. 13. “Given the last RFP with only one bidder I said, ‘We’re going to wait.’”
Instead of opening the bid, Thompson re-sent the requests for proposals and received four bids in return.
“We’re going to open them Wednesday,” he said. “I’d like to have that done by midweek so we can give something to the board of what, at least, is available to us.”
Board President Dave Stevens was cautiously optimistic the association had improved its RFP process.
“They’re two different things – a service bid and a construction bid,” he said. “To a certain extent, what Bob [Thompson] did get was the idea that we’re just not going to give blanket approval to everything he says.”
Director Bill Cordwell did not see a problem with opening the single bid on White Horse.
“I don’t know that any lessons can be learned from the boat ramp thing other than we live on the Eastern Shore. We’re sometimes not going to catch three bids for everything,” he said. “Resources down here are limited, and if people are going to come across the bridge to do our work, they’re not doing that for free. Sometimes we’re just not going to get three bids for everything.”
At least one board member wondered whether the limited timeframe prevented more bidders from biting on the White Horse project.
“We would hope the result is that there would be more attention paid up front to the question of getting four bids,” Stevens said. “That can be done by expanding your bidders list, for example, and mapping out the time flow of these things.
“I’m satisfied with it given where we were at the time, we had to make a decision,” Stevens continued. “The board voted for it in the end once we were satisfied. Putting bidders at a disadvantage wasn’t the reason that we only got one bid – at least it wasn’t a very strong one. I’m satisfied. Happy – I don’t want to say that.”
The board will likely review the trash RFP during the next regular meeting on Saturday.