Mall Furniture

The City of Madison Parks Division issued a Request for Quotation (RFQ #4627-0-2017-BO) for comprehensive mall furniture procurement on June 7, 2017, with bids due on June 23, 2017, at 2:00 PM CST. The solicitation sought fully assembled outdoor furnishings for the Mall Concourse, specifically including 10 four-foot benches, 15 six-foot benches, multiple bike racks of varying stall configurations (single and double-sided), 10 trash receptacles, and 10 recycling receptacles. All items were required to be black, matching signal black RAL9004, with recycling receptacle tops in blue RAL5002. Acceptable manufacturers included Landscape Forms, Thomas Steele/Overature, and Dero Bike Rack Company, though bidders could propose substitute items for evaluation. The City planned to award the contract to the most advantageous bidder, considering factors such as cost, quality, warranty, delivery, past performance, and service reputation. An optional site visit was scheduled for June 16, 2017, at 10:00 AM at the Goodman Maintenance Facility, with required delivery between October 1 and October 15, 2017.

The procurement included a local vendor preference policy that provided scoring advantages to registered local vendors. Bidders were required to submit responses using Form A (Price Proposal) and Form B (Bidder Information) through email, mail, or fax. Ultimately, three vendors submitted bids: Gerber Leisure Products from Minnesota, Graber Manufacturing Inc. from Wisconsin, and Playground MN from Minnesota. Graber Manufacturing Inc. was awarded the contract at $40,434.87, significantly lower than Gerber Leisure Products' bid of $49,475.25. The local vendor preference was effectively applied, as Graber Manufacturing is a Wisconsin-based company. Unit pricing ranged from $293.30 to $769.00 per item, with trash and recycling receptacles representing the most substantial line items at $6,600.00 and $7,690.00 respectively for ten-unit quantities. The procurement did not specify specific funding amounts or contract renewal options, and no incumbent vendor was identified in the documentation.