It came with a price tag Councilmember Matthew Hudes at first said looked “out of balance,” but in the end the flooring rework slated for the Adult Recreation Center was approved unanimously.
At the Sept. 21 town council meeting, Hudes pulled the item from the consent agenda, wondering about the $135,905 contract value, which includes a 10% contingency.
He asked staff why it was going to cost more than he would’ve expected.
Staff said the Town is moving to a different flooring type—from old tile to vinyl planking—which will likely result in damage to the subfloor layer and require additional labor during construction.
“This project will replace the flooring in the Adult Recreation Center to better provide comfortable, attractive and easier to maintain floor coverings throughout the facility,” stated the staff report prepared by Facilities and Environmental Services Manager Dan Keller, noting community rooms, lobby and hallway areas will all get the vinyl treatment. “The existing floor coverings throughout the facility have exceeded their serviceable life.”
One speaker during the public comment period asked why San Jose-based Harry L. Murphy, Inc. appeared to be the only bidder on the project.
Staff replied that it sometimes relies on Sourcewell, an organization that establishes competitive labor and materials costs, in its search, since it can be hard to find local contractors to do this kind of flooring job.
“Sourcewell contractors are held to these competitive industry labor and material costs,” Keller wrote in the staff report for the item. “Only one quote was obtained based on this information as the Town’s Purchasing Policy allows for the use of cooperative purchasing agreements.”
Harry L. Murphy Inc. did an “excellent” job on a similar project at the library, according to the report.
Councilmember Maria Ristow asked if the six-figure price was a “maximum,” and if the Town might hope it will cost less in the end.
However, staff replied they think the cost is “going to be pretty close” to the estimate, although officials don’t think they’ll find asbestos.
“My experience with older buildings is there’s never good surprises,” Ristow replied.
The Town’s Capital Improvement Program had budgeted $200,000 floor repair, which leaves $64,095.
No environmental review was required for the project.
The project includes the installation of non-slip material for the stairs and commercial-grade carpet squares for offices.
In a recent Reddit post, user “WBigly-Reddit” asked why the Town would hire a contractor for a flooring job through a national contractor database, instead of sourcing bids locally.
To this, “u/losgatosquack” replied they wondered if perhaps local companies didn’t express enough interest in the job.
“I would assume it comes down to the bid price,” the Reddit user said. “The Town routinely puts out RFPs for various projects.”
Sourcewell awards contracts through so-called “cooperative purchasing,” conducted by one or more “Public Procurement Units” (as defined by the American Bar Association Model Procurement Code for State and Local Governments).
