Commissioners award scrap bid

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009

The contract, estimated to render nearly $200,000 in revenue for the county, was awarded based on a percentage rate of the scrap metal per ton market price each bidder promised to pay the county. In 2009, the county received almost $150,000 from the previous contract, which was also awarded to Yowell Equipment in 2006.

Each bidder was required to submit both a percentage rate and a floor price — a fixed amount that would be paid to the county for each ton of scrap metal recycled if the market price dropped to zero.

Yowell Equipment's 77.28 percentage rate was the highest submitted, but the contractor did not include a floor price in its bid. However, Calvert County Attorney Emanuel Demedis determined that no matter what floor price Yowell Equipment submitted, it would have still been the highest bidder.

Jason Scaggs, president of Scaggs Home Inc. of Owings, the contract's second highest-bidder, expressed his displeasure over the contract during public comment.

Scaggs said he was led to believe that Yowell Equipment's bid had been discarded because it did not include a floor price and said that he thought bids from out-of-county contractors should be thrown out if there is a "valid reason" to do so.

"If we're going to hold a hard line on these bid documents, then we should hold a hard line," Scaggs said.

jnewman@somdnews.com