By Joan Moseley, The Crestline Courier
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The board of supervisors has awarded Sukut Construction a $19,627,964 contract for structural and vehicle debris removal services as the result of the Slide and Grass Valley Fires in Lake Arrowhead, Green Valley Lake, Running Springs and Fredalba. The award was made during the supervisors' December 11 meeting.
Although the contract vote was unanimous, Third District Supervisor Dennis Hansberger asked Peter Wulfman, director of the county's Solid Waste Management Division, to elaborate on how the decision was made. He asked for clarification on why the lowest bidder or a local contractor was not selected, such as Vance Corporation. Wulfman said Vance's proposal was $1 million higher than Sukut's proposal. The cost of debris removal will be approximately $40,000 per home, Wulfman said.
Wulfman said the decision was made based on qualifications and other factors. Following the presentation, he told The Mountain News the Request For Proposals (RFP) was based on selecting a company with the most experience and the best presentation and the one solid waste management officials felt would do the best job.
“I would have loved it if Vance had won the contract. They're good guys but Sukut submitted a better proposal at good prices,” said Wulfman.
The four qualified and competing companies that gave presentations to solid waste management officials priced their debris removal costs at between $18.7 and $28.4 million. Sukut's estimate was $19.6 million, which Wulfman said “was reasonable.”
The contract amount is based on 100 percent participation by all 520 fire victims in the county debris removal program. Wulfman has no expectation the county will have all the property owners participate; if they don't the contract amount can be reduced. The contract amount was based on the “per tonnage rate” for hauling the debris as well as the number of lots. If fire victims do not sign up with the county, they must contract with a contractor of their choice but all the properties must be cleared.
In addition to the contract with Sukut Construction, the supervisors also approved a $502,050 contract with Vector Engineering to provide construction management and contract compliance services to monitor the structural debris removal process and then monitor erosion control measures associated with the fires.
One factor that makes the Slide and Grass Valley Fire cleanup different from the cleanup in Cedar Glen after the 2003 Old Fire is the chimneys and foundations are to be removed. In previous discussions with county personnel, The Mountain News has been told the county is trying to correct or change some of its regulations so four years later there aren't chimneys, old cars and foundations still left in the community.
During the two fires many foundations were burned and will have to be completely removed, something that does not always occur because it depends on how hot the fire burns. San Bernardino County Fire Marshal Peter Brierty told The Mountain News that in slower moving fires, firefighters have a better chance to make sure the interior is “secured” and flare-ups are less likely to occur. However in the recent firestorms, firefighters did not have the same advantage before they had to move on to another house. He said many of the roofs caved in and then some of the fires “cooked” in the structure for a long time after it caught on fire.
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