Cal-City Construction, Inc., B-278796, March 16, 1998

B-278796 Mar 16, 1998 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Under a solicitation which specifically provided that topsoil import would not be necessary if the work was performed in compliance with specifications. Additive bid item 0001AA was for the addition of the firing surface on the firing lines and incidental related work. The subsection stated that additional topsoil would not be required if work was performed in compliance with the IFB stripping and stockpiling requirements. That if there was insufficient on-site topsoil meeting specified requirements for topsoil. The contractor was to provide topsoil required in excess of that available. Nine bids were received and opened on September 4. Pacific was the apparent low bidder at $2. 400 and Cal-City was next low at $3. View Decision Matter of: Cal-City Construction, Inc. File: B-278796 Date: March 16, 1998 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Cal-City Construction, Inc. protests the award of a contract to I.E. Pacific, Inc. under invitation for bids (IFB) No. N68711-96-B-3744, issued by the Department of the Navy for the repair of certain firing ranges and the addition of an irrigation system at the Edson Ranges, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, California. Cal-City contends that the Navy improperly permitted Pacific to correct an alleged mistake in its low bid, that Pacific should only be permitted to withdraw its bid, and that award should be made to Cal-City, the next low bidder. We sustain the protest. The solicitation, issued on July 17, 1997, required the submission of a fixed-price bid for two base items with associated bond costs and an additive item, also with bond costs. Base bid item 0001A included all of the effort required to repair and upgrade four firing ranges including repairs and rehabilitation of ancillary structures. It also included, among other things, correction of drainage problems including regrading for positive drainage; installation of culverts and drainage structures when required; patching and sealing existing paving and any incidental related work. Base bid item 0001B included the addition of an irrigation system at Edson Ranges, lighting at the 500-yard firing line, and incidental related work. Additive bid item 0001AA was for the addition of the firing surface on the firing lines and incidental related work. Subsection 3.8.2 of Sec. 02315 of the IFB (addressing the specifications for excavation and fill) required that 4 inches of topsoil be provided for newly graded finish earth surfaces and areas disturbed by the contractor. The subsection stated that additional topsoil would not be required if work was performed in compliance with the IFB stripping and stockpiling requirements, but that if there was insufficient on-site topsoil meeting specified requirements for topsoil, the contractor was to provide topsoil required in excess of that available. Nine bids were received and opened on September 4, 1997. Pacific was the apparent low bidder at $2,671,400 and Cal-City was next low at $3,154,600. The government estimate for the project was $3,726,000. Because Pacific's bid was substantially lower than the government estimate and the other bids, by letter dated September 5, the contracting officer requested Pacific to verify its bid. By letter dated September 12, Pacific responded that it had made a "clerical error" in its bid. Pacific stated that it used a $407,878 quote from a subcontractor for all work contained under the general excavation, filling, and backfilling requirement and, in the process of reviewing its bid, Pacific discovered that the subcontractor's quote consisted of two pages, not just the one page received and relied upon by Pacific. The second page contained an additive of $350,000 for topsoil import that Pacific's letter stated was "required by the project documents." Pacific requested upward correction of its bid in the amount of $350,000 plus its general markup of 10 percent, plus a concordant $3,000 increase in Pacific's bond costs, for a total increase of $388,000. Pacific's corrected total bid of $3,059,400 would remain low. If not allowed to correct, Pacific requested that it be permitted to withdraw its bid. In support of its correction request, Pacific submitted its original worksheets, the subcontractor quote sheets, and an explanation that its mistake resulted from having received only the first page of the two-page subcontractor quote. The agency, after reviewing documents and Pacific's subsequent response to additional questions concerning the alleged mistake, found that the evidence clearly and convincingly proved the existence of both the mistake and the intended bid. The agency therefore concluded that Pacific should be allowed to correct its bid, and on November 25, awarded to Pacific at the corrected price of $3,059,400.