Fireworks contractor will be hired at another time
The City Council has hired Curtain Maritime to provide the Fourth of July barge service for this year.
The City Council voted 4-1, with Councilmember Cinde MacGugan-Cassidy casting the dissenting vote, to authorize the city manager to execute the contract for the barge for the 2022 Fourth of July Fireworks display.
Staff will bring back a proposal to hire a fireworks contractor at a later time.
“Unfortunately the procurement process was flawed from the beginning,” Cassidy wrote in a text to the Islander.
“Given the error, I felt the contract should have been awarded to the lowest bidder in the beginning which would have been Pacific Tug. I couldn’t in good conscience vote approval given the circumstances,” Cassidy wrote.
“[H]owever, I am happy that we are moving forward this early in solidifying plans for the 4th of July,” Cassidy wrote.
The cost: $30,000, according to the staff report by Community Service Supervisor David Hart. The city budgeted $50 for the project, according to the report.
“Due to the high demand and a reduced number of providers for shows on the Fourth of July, City Staff would like to secure a barge now,” Hart wrote.
“On November 16 2021, Staff was contacted by a representative of Curtin Maritime expressing their interest in providing the barge service for the Fourth of July offering to match the lowest bid received by any barge company. Additionally, Curtin Maritime offered to only charge for the hard costs (employee time and fuel) and donate any remaining monies back to the City of Avalon to support youth activities,” Hart wrote.
“On November 16 2021, Staff was contacted by a representative of Curtin Maritime expressing their interest in providing the barge service for the Fourth of July offering to match the lowest bid received by any barge company. Additionally, Curtin Maritime offered to only charge for the hard costs (employee time and fuel) and donate any remaining monies back to the City of Avalon to support youth activities,” Hart wrote.
“Due to a breach of procurement procedures, on January 24, 2021, Staff re-solicited bids from the original four firms and two additional! Connolly Pacific and Avalon Freight. All firms had the opportunity to observe what previous quotes had been received in the first bid solicitation. By the time this report was authored, Staff received only two quotes — Pacific Tug and Curtin Maritime again. The estimate provided by Pacific Tug remained the same, $32,760, and Curtin Maritime’s new estimate is $30000,” Hart wrote.
The council canceled the 2020 fireworks show because of the pandemic.
The city announced the cancelation 2021 Fourth of July fireworks show hours before the show was supposed to take place as a result of issues with the vendor.
