Board Of Works (10-28-26)

The City of Gary Board of Works met on October 28, 2026. It opened a bid for erosion repair at the 1900 Bur Street Landfill; Z Excavating LLC submitted a bid of $228,000, and the bids were referred to the department for a recommendation rather than awarded at this meeting. The board also approved the scope to advertise the 2027 demolition and blight-removal program, targeting removal of 100 unsafe homes annually. Members requested revisions to the solicitation language and emphasized that vendors must be registered with SAM.gov and not suspended or debarred. A change order for the Trail Head Homes/Jefferson Street project was approved; the transcript reports an original total contract amount of $969,400 and a net change order of $14,214.60. Other approved project changes included Brothers Keeper-related change orders of $139,547 and $61,687, and a $1,651 environmental-services change order with Metro Environmental, bringing that contract to $14,313. A JQOL survey-scope item also changed the funding account and added $243 in travel expenses.

The board conditionally approved amendments for Midwestern Electric at a revised not-to-exceed amount of $34,657 and LGS Plumbing at $59,231.12; both votes were 4–1, pending verification of the funding source. Time Clock Plus LLC’s scheduling software contract for $15,358.58 was approved unanimously. Several emergency tree-and-debris-clearing contracts related to the August 11 storm were approved for terms through December 31, 2026; the board amended the scope language from “tree removal” to “tree and debris clearing.” Clear amounts in the transcript include $84,845 for Load and Go Express and $36,075 for Joshua Landscaping; other vendor amounts are unclear in the transcript. The board also considered a $573,941.90 contract with Donley Safety for citywide warning sirens, with a one-year term and a five-year service agreement described, but the supplied transcript ends before the vote. Routine claims and payroll/pension ratifications were also approved, including payroll of $11,750,694.35 and pension payments of approximately $1.36 million.