LINCOLN COUNTY IN LEGAL FIGHT OVER PLANT BIDS

By Jon Mayhew [LINCOLN COUNTY] – A bidder for the construction of the future Killian Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Killian Creek Pumpstation is taking the county to court over the bidding process.

Hickory Construction Company is taking legal action to stop the bids from being awarded to the “apparent” low bidder, Wharton-Smith.

As a result of the action, a planned meeting for Monday, Feb. 23 at 6:30pm has been cancelled.

“The reconvened meeting was solely for the purpose of awarding those bids,” said Lincoln County Commission chairman Alex Patton.

In the suit, Hickory Construction claims Wharton-Smith was “non-responsive.”

According to county manager George Wood, the county plans to fight the legal challenge “vigorously.”

“The county engineer on both of these projects has determined the lowest bidder was responsive,” said Wood, adding the engineer is W.K. Dickson. “Wharton-Smith meets the performance specification for the equipment being contested.”

Patton said county officials aren’t waiting to take action.

“We have delayed this award for approximately one week to give our attorneys sufficient time to respond to Hickory’s motion for a temporary restraining order attempting to prevent the County from awarding the bid,” said Patton. “That motion was filed today, and a hearing was set for 9:00 am Thursday morning in Superior Court. The parties have agreed to delay that hearing for approximately one week, so there is no need for the reconvened meeting on Feb. 23.”

According to Wood, the difference in the bid between the two firms is $1.19 million.

“And Wharton-Smith’s bid reduces the construction time from 16 months to 14 months at no additional cost to the County,” said Wood. “This is an excellent bid price for our citizens, and we are disappointed that someone would try this type of action to get a bid.”

Wood added the county’s engineers have called the Hickory Construction bid “unresponsive,” in addition to being higher than Wharton-Smith.

“If this action continues, we will be considering a counter-suit for damages for delaying the construction,” said Wood.

The Killian Plant will replace the Forney Creek Plant, which county leaders say is outdated and unable to keep up with the growth in eastern Lincoln County.