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Mr. Morgan described the reasons the first bid process produced a total bid that came in $1.2 million over the budget established by Council: the pre-bid design estimate was incorrect, the construction bid market coverage was not satisfactory and attracted too few subcontractor's bids, and the bid process was too burdensome. On November 3, 1995, City staff and the City Hall development and construction team met with the leading contractors in the Bay Area. They held a forum in the Redwood City Library on bidding and construction issues and developed a plan of action as described in the "Redwood City - City Hall Design/Construction Forum Major Consensus Points" stressing a return to the design phase, designating a project captain, pre-qualification of bidders including pre-bid conferences, going forward with the team in place, and "proceeding as quickly as possible because the construction materials and labor market is rapidly escalating and may become inflationary." In response to Council questions, Mr. Morgan admitted that there were some trepidation's on the part of the bidders because the contracts will not be held by the City but by Rudolph & Sletten, the CMGC. However, the CMGC will do what is necessary to encourage trust in the process, and "the subcontractors will have confidence knowing they are working with a known entity...that the project will be properly budgeted and scheduled and managed by a professional in the construction industry." 2) Current market situation and blending private/public contracting procedures and quality control (Mario Wijtman, Rudolph & Sletten, Inc.) Mario Wijtman, Rudolph & Sletten, Inc. CMGC, stated the economy is picking up, that in 1996 there will be approximately 25 projects out to bid with a value of $20 million or more each. He encouraged the Council to get ahead of the wave in order to minimize the construction cost escalation. Mr. Wijtman described the new bidding process and stated it was their intention to create a level playing field for all bidders and make the process bidder-friendly. Sharon Jones, Redwood City Engineer and Project Manager, described the expected time schedule: out to bid in March and targeting May to begin construction. In response to Councilman Leipzig's questions regarding "highest quality at lowest fee policy" Mr. Morgan explained that it meant the City would receive the "best value for each dollar spent." The Council had stated it wanted a quality building, and that translated into a stated objective of a building that would last 1 00 years. The Council didn't want a strip mall building, and that decision dictated the use of certain quality materials, and the emphasis was to get the best value using those required materials. MINUTE BOOK NO. 53 Page No. 456 Special City Council Study Session Minutes December 4, 1995 Page 3