ROCK SPRINGS — Questions about the request for proposal process used for the Bitter Creek Reclamation Project ended in the Rock Springs City Council changing how a portion of the process will occur, at the August 19 meeting.

After a lengthy discussion, the Council decided to assign two Councilors on the RFP Review Committee and to host a workshop to discuss the RFP process more in-depth so all would understand how the process works.

During the Rock Springs City Council meeting, Councilors continued to ask questions about the Bitter Creek Project RFP proposal. The city once again sent out RFPs, and some of the Councilors, including Rob Zotti and Keaton West said they didn’t even know the RFP had been sent back out.

Zotti said he was told another RFP has been released by the city and there were changes made to it.

Paul Kauchich, Director of Engineering and Operations, said they changed the RFP process to reflect what the Wyoming Department of Transportation uses after the Council rejected the RFP’s at a previous meeting. He pointed that in WYDOT’s process they do not look at the price. They look at the qualifications, expertise, and experience.

Zotti said he didn’t think the Council should make a decision without looking at the price at all.

At this point in the meeting, Mayor Tim Kaumo excused himself from the meeting because he felt it might become a conflict of interest with his position at JFC, who put in an RFP on the original project.

Kauchich said they followed what WYDOT did. He said the he and his staff were simply following the directions they were given.

“We were asked to go forward with it,” he said.

Zotti said it appeared to him the changes made to the RFP were made to fit one proposal already submitted in the previous round of RFPs. Zotti also questioned whether the Council followed statutes when it decided to reject all of the proposals and send it out again.

Kauchich said from a statute perspective the city doesn’t have to do anything. They could select a firm without a process, however they must follow a process for AML Funding.

As for why the RFP was changed, Kauchich said it was structured to give all of the firms the same information and force them to provide a proposal that was similar to each other.

City Attorney Richard Beckwith said professional services are excluded from bidding statutes. The RFP process is something the city came up with themselves.

“I still have concerns with the process we’re doing now,” Zotti said.

Beckwith said the city shouldn’t go for the cheap RFP and pay for it down the line in endless change orders that could actually cost the city more in the long run.

Kauchich once the RFP committee has ranked the proposals and the Council has selected one, they can look at the price. If they think the price is too high, they can negotiate for a lower price or move onto the next firm in line.

Councilor Ryan Greene said in the private sector they throw out the high and low bids and pick one in the middle. He said if a bid is within one or two points in the ranking scale of each other, the Council should review the price.

Kauchich said the integrity of the staff and the committee was questioned on social media.

Councilor David Halter said when they get complaints on an issue, they have to look into it. He said when they asked for more information it was denied.

Kauchich said the cost for the RFP JFC submitted wasn’t out of line. He said they need to figure out what they want to do in terms of a process because they are relying on some grant funding to get it done.

The Council discussed having a third party review it and putting one, two, or more than two councilors on the RFP review committee.

After thinking it over and some more discussion, the Council decided to have two on the committee.

After this portion of the meeting, the Council had a heated discussion about the lack of trust and bickering they display for each other outside of the meetings. This discussion also revolved around the Bitter Creek issue.

A full story to come.