10-04-1995 Charter Packet Supplement

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651 LOCAL IMPROVEMENTS, SPECIAL ASSFSSMENTS 429.041 such length of time as it may deem advisable. If the estimated cost exceeds $100,000, publication shall be made no less than three weeks before the last day for submission of bids once in the newspaper and at least once in either a newspaper published in a city of the first class or a trade paper. To be eligible as such a trade paper, a publication shall have all the qualifications of a legal newspaper except that instead of the require- ment that it shall contain general and local news, such trade paper shall contain build- ing and construction news of interest to contractors in this state, among whom it shall have a general circulation. The advertisement shall specify the work to be done, shall state the time when the bids will be publicly opened for consideration by the council, which shall be not less than ten days after the first publication of the advertisement when the estimated cost is less than $100,000 and not less than three weeks after such publication in other cases, and shall state that no bids will be considered unless sealed and filed with the clerk and accompanied by a cash deposit, cashier's check, bid bond, or certified check payable to the clerk, for such percentage of the amount of the bid as the council may specify. In providing for the advertisement for bids the council may direct that the bids shall be opened publicly by two or more designated officers or agents of the municipality and tabulated in advance of the meeting at which they are to be con- sidered by the council. Nothing herein shall prevent the council from advertising sepa- rately for various portions of the work involved in an improvement, or from itself, supplying by such means as may be otherwise authorized by law, all or any part of the materials, supplies, or equipment to be used in the improvement or from combining two or more improvements in a single set of plans and specifications or a single con- tract. Subd. 2. Contracts; day labor. In contracting for an improvement, the council shall require the execution of one or more written contracts and bonds, conditioned as required by law. The council shall award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder or it may reject all bids. If any bidder to whom a contract is awarded fails to enter promptly into a written contract and to furnish the required bond, the defaulting bidder shall forfeit to the municipality the amount of the defaulter's cash deposit, cashier's check, bid bond, or certified check, and the council may thereupon award the contract to the next lowest responsible bidder. When it appears to the council that the cost of the entire work projected will be less than $25,000, or whenever no bid is submitted after proper advertisement or the only bids submitted are higher than the engineer's estimate, the council may advertise for new bids or, without advertising for bids, directly purchase the materials for the work and do it by the employment of day labor or in any other manner the council considers proper. The council may have the work supervised by the city engineer or other qualified person but shall have the work super- vised by a registered engineer if done by day labor and it appears to the council that the entire cost of all work and materials for the improvement will be more than $10,000. In case of improper construction or unreasonable delay in the prosecution of the work by the contractor, the council may order and cause the suspension of the work at any time and relet the contract, or order a reconstruction of any portion of the work improperly done, and where the cost of completion or reconstruction necessary will be less than $25,000, the council may do it by the employment of day labor. Subd. 3. Day labor; detailed report. When the council has performed construction work by day labor, it shall cause a detailed report to be filed with the clerk and certified by the registered engineer or other person in charge, if there is no registered engineer. The report shall show: (a) the complete cost of the construction; (b) final quantities of the various units of work done; (c) materials furnished for the project and the cost of each item thereof; (d) cost of labor, cost of equipment hired, and supervisory costs. The report shall have attached a certificate by the registered engineer or other per- son in charge that the work was done according to the plans and specifications, or, if there were any deviations from them, an itemized statement of those deviations. Subd. 4. Alternate procedure on street improvements. As to any improvement or