Carmen – I do not see a problem meeting with the apparent low bidder prior to award. While no work may commence until contracts have been signed, bonds and insurance checked, and a notice to proceed issued, a purely informational meeting has precedent. Though I would defer to John for a legal opinion, my initial impression is that negotiating a reduction with a single vendor following a sealed bid may be something we want to treat with caution. If bids came in over expected amounts, it may be of value to first determine why. It could be that an item, process, or request was left out of the specification or was misunderstood by vendors. To select and negotiate (or change order down, which roughly accomplishes the same thing) with one entity based on an ostensibly faulty specification document may be seen in a negative light by other bidders. As always, legal precedent and/or management’s direction would prevail. Please let me know if I may be of further assistance. Matthew E. McCombs Management Analyst Town of Addison (972) 450-7090 Fax: (972) 450-7065 mmccombs@addisontx.gov P Please consider the environment before printing this email. -----Original Message----- From: Carmen Moran Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 5:01 PM To: John Hill; Randy Moravec; Matt McCombs Cc: Lea Dunn; Clay Barnett; Nancy Cline; Slade Strickland Subject: FW: Meeting Summary Please see Tom’s question #1 below. We have two questions regarding #1. 1. Can we meet with the low bidder and value engineer (reduce the cost) of the project before we award the bid? If so, is there a maximum amount by which we can reduce the bid amount? 2. Can we award the bid, and then as the next item on the agenda, approve a change order to reduce the amount of the contract, assuming the amount we reduce it by is less than 25% of the bid? Lea would like to meet tomorrow immediately after post-Council to discuss this item. I will send a meeting notice. Randy, if you and Matt have the answer, it would not be necessary for Matt to come over from Finance for the meeting. Carmen Moran Director of Development Services Town of Addison P.O. Box 9010 Addison, TX 75001 Ph: 972-450-2886 Fax: 972-450-2837 Email: cmoran@addisontx.gov P Please consider the environment before printing this email. -----Original Message----- From: Tom Lamberth [mailto:TLamberth@udr.com] Sent: Monday, December 07, 2009 1:41 PM To: Ron Whitehead; Lea Dunn; Carmen Moran Cc: Mark Culwell; Matthew Brendel; bdunne@icon-engineers.com Subject: Meeting Summary Ron, Lea and Carmen- I thought I would follow up and summarize our comments from today’s meeting as you prepare for your meeting tomorrow. They are: 1. After review of the bid tabs for the park package, we believe and North Texas (low bidder) has indicated that there is room to VE their bid without impacting the quality of the design. It is our thought that a change order detailing reductions or deletions could be submitted to Council at the same time the bid package is submitted for approval. I am not exactly sure how the mechanics of that works but would ask for that to be a consideration as we move forward. The goal would be to have this package on the first Council date in January. 2. Addison will evaluate each of the four add alternates in the bid to determine which ones need to be included in this package and which can wait to be more closely aligned with the private development. 3. Addison will review the Master Facilities Agreement to determine what dollars are allocated to each line item listed for the improvements that are to be paid from the first $23.2M bond sale. This review will include dollars that are currently earmarked for the northern portion of Brookhaven Club Drive and the Spring Valley intersection. 4. Addison will determine the breakdown of the $2.1M that Dallas County has committed for the park and bridge packages and initiate the request of funds from the County for the park funding. Lea and Carmen- Matt will send a separate email regarding the issues he discussed this morning. Thanks for the time this morning. As stated, let’s all keep working together as partners and the end result will be a destination that will be a landmark in the Metroplex. We appreciate all of your efforts. Tom Lamberth UDR 972 716 3560 (O) 214 662 1088 (C)