Belmont Municipal Code Div. 6 Public Project Construction

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2025-1190, § 5, adopted Sept. 23, 2025, repealed § 2-143, which pertained to dollar thresholds and derived from Ord. No. 1074, § 3, adopted Dec. 10, 2013.

The purchasing officer or designee may require a pre-qualification process for bidders for public construction projects in accordance with California Public Contract Code. The pre-qualification process shall be specified by council resolution.

(Ord. No. 1074, § 3, 12-10-13)

(a) Dollar threshold. Small public project construction means construction projects up to the amount set forth in Public Contract Code Section 22032(a), as amended.

(b) Procedure. The contract authority may select a contractor and issue the contract for small public project construction under the open market purchase procedures in this article, except that section 2-115 shall not apply. Small public project construction may be performed by city employees by force account, by negotiated contract, or by purchase order.

(Ord. No. 1074, § 3, 12-10-13; Ord. No. 2019-1136, § 1, 1-8-19; Ord. No. 2025-1190, § 6, 9-23-25)

(a) Dollar threshold. Informally bid public project construction means construction projects that are more than the dollar threshold for small project construction and up to the amount set forth in Public Contract Code Section 22032(b), as amended.

(b) Procedure. The contract authority may select a contractor for informally bid public project construction and issue the contract in accordance with the informal bid process provided in this section to the lowest responsible bidder. If two or more bids are the same and the lowest, the contract authority may accept the one it chooses.

(c) Bidder's list. The purchasing officer shall develop and maintain a list of qualified contractors identified according to categories of work in accordance with Public Contract Code Section 22034 and criteria promulgated from time to time by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission.

(d) Notice inviting informal bids. At least 10 calendar days before the bid deadline, the purchasing officer shall mail, fax, or email a notice inviting informal bids to either:

(1) All the qualified contractors on the relevant bidders list unless the product or service is proprietary; or

(2) All construction trade journals specified by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission under Public Contract Code Section 22036.

(e) Notice contents. The notice required by subsection (d) shall:

(1) Describe the project in general terms and how to obtain more detailed information about the project; and

(2) State the time and place for the submission of bids.

(f) Exceeding dollar limit. If all bids received for an informally bid public construction project exceed the amount in subsection (a), the city council may, by passage of a resolution by a four-fifths vote, award the contract, if with the amount set forth in Public Contract Code Section 22034(d), to the lowest responsible bidder, if it determines that the original cost estimate of the city was reasonable.

(Ord. No. 1074, § 3, 12-10-13; Ord. No. 2016-1097, § 1, 2-9-16; Ord. No. 2019-1136, § 2, 1-8-19; Ord. No. 2025-1190, § 7, 9-23-25)

(a) Dollar threshold. Formally bid public project construction means construction projects that are more than the amount set forth in Public Contract Code Section 22032(c), as amended.

(b) Procedure. The contract authority may let formally bid public project construction in accordance with the formal bidding process in Public Contract Code Section 22037 and BCC Sections 2-148 and 2-149(a).

(c) The purchasing officer shall publish a notice inviting sealed, formal bids. The notice shall:

(1) Be mailed and either faxed or emailed at least 15 days before bid opening to all construction trade journals specified by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission under Public Contract Code Section 22036;

(2) Be published at least 14 days before bid opening in a newspaper of general circulation in the city;

(3) State the time and place for receiving and opening of sealed bid; and

(4) Distinctly describe the project.

(Ord. No. 1074, § 3, 12-10-13; Ord. No. 2016-1097, § 1, 2-9-16; Ord. No. 2019-1136, § 3, 1-8-19; Ord. No. 2025-1190, § 8, 9-23-25)

(a) Except as provided in Section 2-149, the authority to let contracts includes the authority to solicit bids, reject bids, select the contractor or award the contract, and execute the contract.

(b) Before the contract authority rejects any bids presented, the purchasing officer shall first:

(1) Furnish a written notice to an apparent low bidder. The notice shall:

(A) Inform the bidder of the city's intention to reject the bid; and

(B) Be mailed at least two business days before the date in which the city intends to reject the bid; and

(2) Reevaluate the city's cost estimates of the project.

(c) If all bids are rejected, the contract authority may either:

(1) Abandoning the project or re-advertising for bids in the manner described by this division; or

(2) After passage of a resolution by a four-fifths vote of the city council declaring that the project can be performed more economically by city employees, perform the project by force account without further complying with this division.

(d) If no bids are received through the formal or informal procedure, the project may be performed by the employees of the public agency by force account, or negotiated contract without further complying with this division.

(Ord. No. 1074, § 3, 12-10-13; Ord. No. 2016-1097, § 1, 2-9-16)

(a) The city council reserves to itself authority to adopt the plans, specifications, and working details and to accept work related to public project construction formally bid under Section 2-147.

(b) The city manager, public works director or city engineer and their designees are authorized to and may adopt the plans, specifications, and working details, and accept work and record a notice of completion related to public project construction for small projects under Section 2-145 and projects under the informal bidding process in 2-146.

(Ord. No. 1074, § 3, 12-10-13; Ord. No. 2016-1097, § 2, 2-9-16)

In cases of emergency, the provisions of Public Contract Code Section 22035 shall apply.

(Ord. No. 1074, § 3, 12-10-13)