Hearing on Bid Protest for New Elementary School Scheduled for October 29

The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division has scheduled a hearing at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 29 for the bid protest for the construction of Amherst’s new elementary school at Fort River. The bid protest was filed by the Foundation for Fair Contracting of Massachusetts and the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters against CTA Construction Managers of Waltham.

CTA Construction submitted the lowest of the three bids for the construction of the school, and, according to Town Manager Paul Bockelman, was awarded the $73 million contract, but the town has had to delay signing the contract until the bid dispute is settled. The other two bidders were J&J Construction of North Billerica and Fontaine Brothers of Springfield. Those companies were asked to hold their bids for another 30 days.

The hearing will be held on-line and is open to the public with the following link:

Join the meeting
Meeting ID: 283 850 390 985
Passcode: soc8ES 

Audio-only:
 +1 857-327-9245,,811416686# 
Phone conference ID: 811 416 686# 

The government web page states that dates and times of hearings are subject to change, and interested parties are urged to check the site frequently for updates.

About the Bid Protest Hearing (from the Attorney General’s Website)
Bid protests are filed when there is an allegation that bid laws have been violated. The purpose of bid laws is to obtain the lowest cost that fair competition can achieve to protect and preserve taxpayers’ dollars; to protect the integrity of the bidding process; to prevent favoritism; and maintain a level playing field for all bidder.

Since the bid protest hearings are part of the Bid Unit’s investigation, as opposed to court proceedings or administrative hearings, neither the rules of evidence nor administrative procedures apply. Therefore, there is no cross-examination or hearsay objections.  After the parties have had an opportunity to present evidence, and have answered follow-up questions posed by the Assistant Attorney General overseeing the hearing, the record will generally be closed and parties will not be allowed to submit additional information.

A decision is usually made within three weeks as to whether the awarding authority (the Town of Amherst) violated the bid laws by failing to adhere to requirements, awarding the contract to a contractor who had violated bid laws, or improperly or unfairly reviewing bids. If it is found that Amherst or CTA Construction violated the bid laws, the Attorney General’s office may require that the town rebid the project, require the town to complete a review of the bidding process, clarify certain bid specifications, or reject a bidder for failing to meet the requirements of the bid law or the town.