Gwinnett Daily Post

AWRENCEVILLE — A Gwinnett businessman filed an injunction Tuesday over a proposed $15 million water contract.

Mark Tibbetts, a businessman with M.C. Dean, said good-old boy politics could cost his company an eight-figure design-build contract to provide standby generator systems for the county’s two water production plants at Lanier Filter Plant and Shoal Creek Filter Plant.

County staff recommended the project go to Cleveland Electric, a Marietta-based business that was the highest-scoring firm in the bid process. But the nearly $16.9 million price tag is above the $15.8 million budget.

After the civil papers were filed, commissioners delayed a vote on the contract until March.

M.C. Dean, the second-largest electrical firm in the nation, which has its Southeast headquarters in Suwanee, was found to be “nonconformant,” Tibbetts said, although he does not know why, since his company has performed federal contracts worth millions.

County purchasing procedures prohibit employees from talking about bids before the project is awarded or denied, and proposals are not subject to open records laws until the decision has been made.

Chairwoman Charlotte Nash declined to comment on the issue, since litigation had been filed.

Last week, Tibbetts told business leaders at a Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce board meeting he thought the contract was being awarded unfairly.

“I can’t let this go,” he said. “I’m not here to hurt the county. I’m here to be a proper steward.”

Tibbetts said his bid was below the budget, but it did not make the pricing phase of the proposal process.

According to the documents, proposals were evaluated for experience, demonstration of project understanding, service support and price.

Cleveland Electric was the highest scoring firm. The second-highest scoring firm, which was not named in the documents, did not include all the specified power generation equipment in its proposal, which would have required another $3.4 million.

The only price named in the documents was that of Cleveland Electric, but Acting Water Resources Director Lynn Smarr said the county evaluated a short list of four firms out of 10 proposers.