School board picks higher bidder to meet state law

CUMBERLAND - School Committee members, who were told they must pay "prevailing wage" to the contractor replacing a light pole and base at McCourt Middle School, agreed last week to award the job to a company that bid nearly $4,000 more than the lowest bidder.

AMS Electric of Pawtucket bid a flat $7,000 to replace the light base, mount a new pole and rewire it, but committee members were advised last Thursday that state law requires them to go with the higher bidder, Alpha Electrical Contractors of East Providence at $10,950, because AMS wasn't paying the prevailing wage dictated by state law.

According to the school director of Buildings and Grounds, Richard Hilton, a contractor bidding on school and town projects must pay prevailing wage - generally $25 to $35 an hour depending on the work - on all jobs of more than $1,000.

The light was damaged on July 10 when Joseph O'Donnell, 66, of Pawtucket, driving a 2009 Toyota Tacoma, struck the pole, according to a Cumberland Police Department report.

The replacement was bid on an emergency basis because, according to Hilton, the driver's insurance company, Casco Indemnity, was slow to settle the claim. Three bids were solicited but the job wasn't advertised in the normal way.

Alpha was the electrical contractor on the school department's Ashton School addition two years ago.

The light has become an emergency, Hilton said, with the approach of winter and early darkness, a problem that becomes worse next week when clocks are reset for Eastern Standard Time.

School Business Manager Alex Prignano settled with the insurer for the amount of Alpha's bid, $10,950, a decision that brought a scolding from school Finance Committee Chairman Brian Kelly.

"Why release a claim until we know the work is done?" he questioned. "We need to protect the School Department. There may be hidden damage that could expose the School Department to additional charges," he said.

Indeed, a notation on Alpha's bid says "a supplemental claim" may be necessary if wires can't be reused and must be replaced.