By Jim Shilander
One of the bidders on the Ole Hanson Beach Club project has sued the city over the bid process.
Lehman Construction, which lost out on the bid, filed suit against the city in December. The owner of Lehman, as well as an attorney, spoke before the city council when it approved the construction contract with Newman Midland Construction at its Dec. 2 meeting, saying that the firm had withdrawn its bid due to what it considered to be irregularities in the bidding process. Lehman had been the lowest bidder.
At the time, City Attorney Jeff Oderman told the council that any irregularities in the bid process were not enough to force the city to have to start over again. Oderman said he and city staff had reviewed the claims and found them to be without substantial merit. Work on the Beach Club is scheduled to begin Monday, Jan. 12. There is currently no temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction against the city for the project.
In a city news release, Mayor Chris Hamm wrote, “Lehman Construction has filed a baseless lawsuit and the city intends to defend the lawsuit and proceed on schedule with the project with Newman.”