Signature snafu stirs million-dollar debate at Clark County Commission meeting

A missing signature was the center of a million-dollar debate at Tuesday’s Clark County Commission meeting.

Commissioners had to decide whether Helix Electric of Nevada’s $3.64 million bid to replace Clark County Water Reclamation District equipment was ineligible for consideration because the company president did not sign the bid proposal sheet.

Acme Electric, the project’s next lowest bidder at $4.59 million, protested the winning bid.

“Helix provided an unsigned, and therefore fatally flawed, bid,” said Don Prunty, an attorney representing Acme Electric.

Helix Electric President Victor Fuchs and county staff saw it differently. They argued that while the bid proposal sheet contained a blank line where a signature would typically go, the space was not specifically labeled for that purpose.

Fuchs signed 13 other documents that were part of Helix Electric’s bid package for the project, including a 10 percent bid bond.

“We have evaluated the bid and every page where the signature was required has been signed by myself,” Fuchs said. “We feel we did everything appropriate in the bid.”

Commissioners voted unanimously to award the contract to Helix Electric, but most did concede that the bid application forms should be better labeled.

“Maybe we need to be clearer about what we’re asking for on each page, or something along those lines,” Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said. “Let’s close any loopholes where we’re not being as accurate as we need to be.”

Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said he’d like to see more uniformity in bid application documents for contracts within different entities overseen by the county.

“The bidding, whether it’s for the airport, whether it’s for the hospital, whether it’s for public works, whether it’s for water ( [reclamation district], we should have the same set of rules that people are bidding aren’t confused,” he said.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.