The city of Columbus is now using an electronic system to receive bids and communicate with vendors.
The matter was discussed by city officials when the Columbus Board of Works voted to release a notice to bidders on road overlay work in east Columbus. City Engineer Andrew Beckort said that this is the first project to use the new system.
“So this means no more hard copy bids?” asked board member John Pickett.
“Correct,” said Beckort. “But we will, as part of the unsealing, we’ll bring a laptop in and show the website.”
As stated in the notice to bidders, proposals for the project can only be submitted via the Ion Wave Technologies system. No mailed, emailed, faxed or hand-delivered responses will be accepted. Companies can register with Ion Wave, view current bids, submit bids, view bid tabulations and view plan holders by going to columbusin.ionwave.net. More information about the system is also available at columbus.in.gov/engineering/info-and-forms/advertised-bids/.
“All suppliers interested in doing business with the City must register with this new system to receive communications when bid events are issued relating to your goods and services,” according to the the engineering department. “Registration is free.”
Clerk-Treasurer Luann Welmer said that the city is still checking with the Indiana State Board of Accounts to confirm that its use of Ion Wave is acceptable. The Indiana Department of Transportation and other municipalities also use this system.
The notice to bidders that was approved by the board of works will also be published in The Republic. According to Beckort, the project is associated with a $334,057 Community Crossings grant to the city that was announced in December. Per the grant program’s rules, cities with a population of more than 10,000, such as Columbus, “receive funds using a 50-50% match.”
Beckort said the city will use the funds to overlay the following streets:
- Mission Court West, from Mission Drive to terminus
- Mission Court East, from Mission Drive to terminus
- Woodcrest Drive, from Flintwood Drive to terminus
- Flintwood Drive, from Chapel Drive to terminus
Bids for this project will be “unsealed” and read aloud at the board of works’ Feb. 21st meeting. Questions related to the project must be submitted via Ion Wave so that all project bidders will have access to the answers; therefore, no questions will be answered over the phone, via email or in-person.
