Lincoln Avenue school fire, demolition bidding contract challenged
Lincoln Avenue school fire, demolition bidding contract challenged
A Milwaukee contractor says Milwaukee Public Schools is not being transparent about the bidding process for the demolition of one of its schools. Fire destroyed the Lincoln Avenue School in June.
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee contractor says Milwaukee Public Schools is not being transparent about the bidding process for the demolition of one of its schools. Fire destroyed the Lincoln Avenue School in June.
Bidding transparency questions
What they're saying:
"We’re very frustrated with the whole process. We want some transparency," said Tom Hervey, Project Manager for The MRD Group.
For decades, The MRD Group has been working in demolition and says it has never dealt with anything like this.
MRD Group
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"We may not win every bid, and we understand that, we just want to make sure the process is followed," Hervey said.
After fire destroyed the Lincoln Avenue School, MPS announced it would be demolished. The MRD Group put in a bid for $928,000.
Lincoln Avenue School fire in Milwaukee; surveillance video released
Surveillance footage released on Friday, Aug. 14, shows the June 30 morning fire inside Lincoln Avenue School.
"Includes asbestos workers, supervision of the site to make sure that it’s all documented correctly," Hervey said.
Outbid by $4 million
What To Know:
They knew other companies were vying for the same contract but did not think they would lose out to one bidding nearly $4 million more.
"We don’t understand the big gap between our number and how the school district is going to pay someone $4.8 million to do that work," Hervey said.
On Monday, Nov. 2, the Milwaukee Public School Board considered moving forward with that $4.8 million contract with TW Chicago out of Illinois, holding a virtual meeting, but ultimately did not make a decision.
The MRD Group has hired an attorney and is appealing.
"Nobody’s been able to see what the bids were or what the score were as promised," said John Machulak, an attorney for The MRD Group.
They want more clarity on the process for everyone involved.
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"It’s just so cloaked in secrecy that none of these contractors can figure out what’s going on," Machulak said.
Response from MPS
The other side:
FOX6 News asked MPS about the higher bid being considered for the contract and the appeal being made by The MRD Group.
A spokesperson for the district only answered that, "MPS received MRD Group’s appeal and is reviewing it through the district’s established procurement appeal process."
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Ashley Sears and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Tom Hervey, The MRD Group, John Machulak, the Milwaukee Public School Board and a spokesperson for Milwaukee Public Schools.