Politics & Government
Muskego Common Council Approves Ayres Contract for Janesville Road Utilities
Approval was deferred on May 24 over concerns that bid process was not competitive, but is unanimous Tuesday night.
During Tuesday night's meeting of the Common Council, a unanimous 7-0 vote gave the green light to hire the engineering firm Ayres Associates Inc. to perform engineering design services for the Janesville Road reconstruction project.
Tonight's approval comes after the Council voted to defer the matter at its meeting May 24 by a vote of 3-2. Absent from that meeting were Aldermen Keith Werner and Noah Fiedler, of Districts 4 and 7, respectively.
At that meeting, Second District Alderman Kert Harenda led the charge to defer approval of the resolution, which was otherwise slated to be approved as part of that meeting's consent agenda.
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At the time, Harenda expressed concern that there were no other bids to compare with Ayres' proposal. He stated that he wanted to see two additional quotes. Joining him in voting to defer the approval were Aldermen Neil Borgman and Dan Soltysiak, of Districts 3 and 5.
Ayres had already been retained by Waukesha County to handle the county’s portion of the major road project. City of Muskego engineering staff made the recommendation at the time to have Ayres handle the relocation of city utilities to coincide with the road work.
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At the May 24 meeting, Mayor Kathy Chiaverotti and First District Alderman Tracy Snead argued that going with Ayres "made common sense." They argued Ayres offered a great bid on the project, but that the project would run more smoothly and efficiently because one firm would be handling the entire project. Adding another firm to the mix could potentially lead to communication breakdowns and other problems between the two, they said.
Since the May 24 meeting, two more bids had arrived. Crispell-Snyder Inc. submitted a proposal for $24,500. Foth Infrastructure LLC weighed in at $23,100. But in the end, Ayres Associates still won out with its quote of $16,500.
Mayor Chiaverotti stated at tonight's meeting that "unnecessary bureaucracy" tied up passage of the contract's approval at the May 24 meeting, and made it clear that "it did delay the County from starting the project."