The Simi Valley City Council displayed its merciful side last week when it voted 5-0 to allow a Camarillo-based construction company to withdraw its faulty bid for the Tapo Street waterline extension project 10 days after the contract had already been awarded, opting to go with the second-highest bidder instead.

Although just an isolated decision on one of many planned capital improvement projects in the city, discussion on the matter during the Aug. 28 meeting brought to light the growing tensions between municipalities and contractors over the rising cost of construction, even as property values begin to fall.

"My big concern is we're awarding a contract for more than double the cost we thought it'd be," Councilmember Michelle Foster said.

The company, New Turf Construction, Inc., requested the withdrawal of its winning $128,353 bid because of a mathematical error which it says caused the firm to underbid the project by $65,000.

According to David Pybrum, CEO of New Turf, his company's calculations went awry when the unit cost per square foot for concrete paving was mistakenly put at $25 instead of at the correct figure, $85.

"It was really nothing more than a multiplication error," Pybrum said of his company's miscalculation, adding "We've been in the business 41 years and I've never been in this situation before."

When the six bids accepted by the Department of Public Works were unsealed Aug. 17, New Turf was the low bidder by more than $45,000, with Mike Stanton Construction of Camarillo and Zondiros Construction of Torrance in second and third place with bids of $176,861 and $216,511 respectively.

Pybrum said his company discovered the error at that point and notified the city within two days.

"We figured something must be wrong," he said. "The amount we were low was quite substantial."

During council discussion on the withdrawal request, Councilmember Glen Becerra brought up the issue of price gouging as it related to construction costs, saying he didn't like the fact that New Turf didn't discover the error until after the bids were unsealed.

"I just want to make sure we're not being taken advantage of," Becerra said, "I want to make sure we're being careful with the taxpayer's money."

Early on, it seemed as if the council would go along with staff's recommendation to hold New Turf to its contract, a decision that would have led to a project cost of $152,000 including $20,000 for contingencies and $3,000 for soils and materials testing services.

But even with assurances from City Manager Mike Sedell, who said New Turf would do the project to the best of its abilities even if forced to, Mayor Paul Miller said he didn't like the idea of handing over an important city infrastructure project to a contractor who didn't want to be doing the work.

"If we force him to honor this bid, will he not be tempted to cut corners and not do as good a job?" Miller asked. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that."

In the end though, the words of Councilmember Barbara Williamson swayed the council's decision in favor of the contractor's plea.

"Who here hasn't made a mistake on the job?" Williamson asked the council. "I believe this was an honest mathematical mistake and we need to let this man off the hook. . . . We don't always have to be the tyrants of government. Sometimes we have to be flexible and just get on with it."

By choosing Stanton Construction, the project costs now stand at $206,000, money that will come out of the Waterworks District Capital Improvement Fund.

The biggest concern expressed by the council was not about the withdrawal of the bid, however, but about the cost estimation made earlier in the year by the public works department, which originally estimated the project would cost the city under $100,000.

"I'm concerned when we're going 100 percent over the original cost," Foster said.

A representative with public works defended the estimate, saying that rising construction and fuel costs have made it difficult for even consultants to come up with accurate bid estimations.

"The market is really volatile," he said, "you can see that just in the wide range of bids we received for this project."

Even after his vote was counted, Becerra did some second-guessing.

"If the shoe was on the other foot, I'm not sure they'd let us off the hook," Becerra said, adding "I won't vote for this again. Contractors should check their numbers and do it right."

The Tapo Street waterline extension project consists of approximately 1,050 feet of 8-inch PVC water main and appurtenances to be installed in Eileen Street and Tapo Street.

The project, expected to be completed in six months, will provide a water-main loop that will correct existing deficient hydraulic capacity and fire-water flow to the Tapo Street revitilization area.