City Council Discusses Bids; Mayor Comments On Chief Of Police Appointment

During regular session of the Holden City Council meeting on February 8, council members addressed bids for various services the City needs.

Bids were received for the job of interior painting of city hall. Bidders were asked to provide proof of insurance and references.

Council discovered upon opening bids that D&H Painting and Robinson Construction brought both insurance and references, and Eddie Hausenstein provided references and a statement that said he would provide insurance if his bid was accepted.

There was discussion among council members regarding if the job was required to pay prevailing wages or not. Council members wondered if the City should redo the bids since there was confusion. City Clerk Celeste Malcolm explained that she would need details for the bid packets.

Following the discussion, Councilman Jim McDaniel motioned to throw out the current bids, rewrite the bid specs with assistance from Mike Daldrup, and republish the bid.

Councilman Rusty Kephart seconded and there was discussion about if the City was required to republish it. It was confirmed that they did not have to advertise it again. All approved and the motion passed.

In other bidding news, the city hall cleaning contract was discussed, and Mayor Liz Weeks asked Mayor Pro Tem Jim McDaniel to lead this discussion, because she submitted a bid and is currently the cleaning contractor for the City, and wanted to avoid a conflict of interest.

Mayor Pro Tem McDaniel opened the first cleaning bid from Road Runner Building Solutions LLC/Samantha Greife. She provided references and proof of insurance.

Her bid showed the weekly cost for cleaning city hall, including special event cleanings, was $100. Weekly cleaning in the Fire Department was $50, and weekly cleaning in the Police Department was $50, and every six months doing a top to bottom deep clean, totaling $200 per week.

McDaniel opened the next bid from The Cleaning Queen/Elizabeth Weeks (current mayor). She provided references and proof of insurance was included.

The cost for the weekly cleaning of City Hall, the Fire Department and Police Department is $150, plus $25 per special event cleanings. There was discussion about the special event cleaning cost being included in the bid, and how often there are special event cleanings.

Council also discussed the cleaning contractor being required to submit to background checks to be allowed access to the Police Department.

Initially, there was a motion and a second to retain The Cleaning Queen as…

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