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Water line at Santo goes out to bid again Medford council reverses decision By CHRIS BRISTOL The Medford City Council rescinded a bid exemption that would have allowed a contractor to fix a botched water line involving the Santo Community Center project. Voting unanimously Thursday, the council reversed a controversial 4-3 vote two weeks ago that rehired the same contractor to replace all two miles of a new water line that proved inadequate. The reversal means the city will rebid the project. The council is expected to award the contract May 4. The project is central to a three-way Santo Center deal among the U.S. Navy, the city and the Medford School District. The Navy gave up the 16,000-square-foot center at 701 N. Columbus Ave. for a long-term arrangement to stay at the old West Side School on Ross Lane. In return, the city agreed to pay $440,000 in rent on the school over 10 years. The city wants the Santo Center for community groups. The Navy uses the school facility as a regional hub for reserve training. As part of the deal, the city also agreed to install a water line to the West Side School. The old school currently has only a well for water. But the water line was botched, failing to pass pressure tests and jeopardizing a deal that has been years in the works. The foul-up led to finger-pointing, with city public works staff blaming the contractor for shoddy workmanship and Harold's Backhoe (which has been paid at least $120,000 for the work) blaming the city's poor design. Among the problems: The two-inch line wasn't big enough, the plastic piping was too stiff and the joints wouldn't hold. The City Council grudgingly voted April 6 to exempt the re-installation project from its competitive bidding requirements and pay Harold's another $125,000 to redo the job. Because the vote was so narrow, city rules called for a second vote. The council reversed itself Thursday, rescinding the exemption and putting the project out to bid. Public Works Director Corey Crebbin said he anticipated the council might not want to pay the same contractor twice to do the same job, so he put the project out to bid April 5, just in case. "I was pursuing both paths to make sure we get this water line taken care of as soon as possible," he said Friday. Bids already have been received. Crebbin said Harold's Backhoe was not the low bidder. The City Council has to approve the bid, and Crebbin's staff is performing a routine investigation of the apparent low bidder. To ensure the new water line is done right, the city already has hired an engineering firm to re-design and monitor the project. Work on the re-installation could begin within a week of the bid's approval. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA