City council considers bid law workarounds

The Selma City Council is looking at some workarounds to prevent bid laws from delaying two projects, one involving storm-damaged Memorial Stadium.

The council Tuesday will consider granting an emergency exemption to the bid process for repair work on Memorial Stadium at Bloch Park so that work can proceed immediately. The city has filed insurance claims to repair the field and bleachers damaged by Hurricane Zeta Oct. 29, but the claim has not yet been paid.

Recreation Director Dr. Denisha Hendricks said if the work is not done by mid-August, Selma High School will have no home games this season.

The other issue involves a flawed bid for cutting grass on about 250 lots owned by the city or state in the city limits. The bid included a date, but did not have an time specified.City Attorney Major Madison acknowledged that the advertisement for bid did not include a time for opening as required by the bid law, but he said it was “not an unrecoverable error.”

“The council still has opportunity to approve” the winning bid as submitted, Mayor James Perkins Jr. said. “I’m asking that council vote on it up or down.”

“We want to do things right, what the bid law requires,” Councilperson Jannie Thomas said. “If we do this (award the contract from the flawed bid), it’s on our heads.”

The council will consider both items at their Tuesday meeting.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the date for the bid was not included. The date was included, but the time was not. Both are required.