New state law forces rebid of traffic contract Opening of bids after holiday violated new law; some fear legal action BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer A new state law and a communication snafu conspired to cause the Edison Township council to reject bids received for a traffic-calming device on Grove Ave. The law, for which council President Charles Tomaro said he did not know the reasoning, was signed into effect by Gov. Jon Corzine on Jan. 17 and prohibits the opening of received bids for local public contracts and public school contracts on Mondays or any day directly following a state or federal holiday. The bids for a traffic-calming device were published on the day Corzine signed the bill into law and were opened as per advertisement, on Feb. 13 - the day after Lincoln's Birthday. "Therefore, technically, it was not consistent with the governor's law," said Township Attorney Jeffrey Lehrer. The legislation came without a grace period by which the municipalities could become acclimated to the change in policy, and Lehrer said the news was not passed down until the day the bids were opened. "The local finance board did not notify the municipalities until Feb. 13," Lehrer said, "the day those were opened." The township opted to rebid the contract at the advice of the township attorney and the Department of Community Affairs. According to Councilman Peter Barnes III, the traffic-calming device was to be a traffic island near the intersection of Grove Avenue and James Street to limit people from cutting through the intersection. "It is my informed recommendation that it's better to be safe than sorry," Lehrer said, "and we reject these bids rather than face the possibility that a bidder would challenge on this technicality." It was a move that left many council members reluctant to approve. Councilman Salvatore Pizzi said that it was unfortunate for the bidder but would be a boon for the taxpayer because the new bids would probably come in lower the second time around. "The downside of that is that the winning bidder with $217,000, let's say everybody knows that, they go out to bid and they know the starting point," Pizzi said. "It's a wonderful thing for the township, but for the bidder it's an unfortunate arrangement." Councilman Robert Diehl said that he did not agree with rebidding the contract but felt that the township had no choice because the council's candor on the subject may cause some bidders to file suit against the township. "I think this is terribly unfair to the winning bidder," Diehl said. "I understand the technicality. I don't think at this point we have a choice because just now, in a public meeting, we just told the other six bidders who weren't successful that they have now an opportunity to come attack us on a technicality. We just made that public." Councilwoman Antonia Ricigliano intimated that this was a recurring problem in Edison, referring to the court-ordered rebidding of a computer system contract late last year. "It seems that we have some problems with the bidding process in this township," Ricigliano said. Lehrer said that there was no way to tell what would come about from the situation but said that the process would essentially have to start over again with an advertisement for bids. "You would have to start over," Lehrer said. "You'd have to advertise and put a new date for acceptance of bids. I can't tell you whether there would be any ramifications of that." As of press time, the actual list of bidders could not be obtained, nor could any of the sponsors of the new state law be reached for comment.