MISSOURI REJECTS STATE PRISON BIDS FOR CHARLESTON

CHARLESTON -- The first round of bids submitted on construction of the Southeast Correctional Center at Charleston has been rejected by the state.

State officials denied the rejections had anything to do with a reported federal grand jury investigation into the state's prison sites selection process.

Gov. Mel Carnahan awarded prison sites to the communities of Charleston and Licking last November. Charleston is about 30 miles south of Cape Girardeau; Licking is in south-central Missouri.

The Associated Press reported a federal grand jury is investigating how the towns were selected from the 31 communities competing for the maximum-security prisons. AP reported a federal grand jury was investigating the selection process after Mayor Tim Whitaker of Trenton and a spokesperson for Sverdrup said they had been contacted by federal agents regarding the prison selection process.

Trenton, in northern Missouri near the Iowa border, was one of three finalists in its third failed attempt to get a state prison. Trenton, Charleston and Licking were among seven towns that submitted proposals which received ratings of "excellent" by Sverdrup.

"The Department of Corrections has never been contacted by that federal grand jury," said Tim Kniest, Department of Corrections public information officer. "To my knowledge it had nothing to do with that."

Three companies from Montgomery, Ala., Benton, Ill., and Kansas City submitted base bid proposals ranging from $65.8 million to $73.2 million to construct the prison off Interstate 57 on Highway 105 in Charleston. The prison is expected to house some 1,600 male inmates.

On Thursday, the Missouri Department of Corrections Division of Design and Construction notified contractors that their bids had been rejected, said state contract specialist Frankie Ryan.

She said it was questionable when the bidding process would be reopened because time was needed to review bid specifications to see "what could be trimmed out."

"Just because we had a state's estimate that was really close to what we got in, that doesn't always mean that's an acceptable amount," said Ryan. "We'll be splitting the second round of bids into two separate bids -- one for site work and one for the actual construction of buildings."

The proposals submitted were similar to the state estimate, but other factors led to the decision to reopen bids. A main factor in the rebidding process was the amount of work necessary to complete the project made it difficult for some contractors to bid, they said.

State officials hope to award bids for site work in early November, with building contracts to follow in late January. The project will take a projected 540 days, or 18 months, to complete from its start date.

Corrections operations should not be unduly affected by the delay, said Ryan.

"Licking is under way, and we're looking at no more than a three-month delay on this project," she said. "If everything is bid out properly, we should be building by the first of April, which will give us a completion date of about October in the year 2000."

The original completion date was March 2000.

REJECTED BIDS

State's Estimate:

Base bid: $65,817,899

Alt. 1: $5,647,669

Alt. 2: $1,738,024

Alt. 3: $259,901

Alt. 4: $262,609

TOTAL: $73,726,102

Caddell Construction #2022, Montgomery, Ala.

Base Bid: $65,800,000

Alt. 1: $4,800,000

Alt. 2: $1,700,000

Alt. 3: $161,000

Alt. 4: $161,000

TOTAL: $72,622,000

River City #2021, Benton, Ill.

Base Bid: $68,999,000

Alt. 1: $5,579,000

Alt. 2: $1,791,000

Alt. 3: $173,000

Alt. 4: $182,000

TOTAL: $76,724,000

Walton/Rallo, Kansas City, Mo.

Base Bid: $73,286,000

Alt. 1: $5,393,000

Alt. 2: $1,664,000

Alt. 3: $196,000

Alt. 4: $224,000

TOTAL: $80,763,000