By Michelle Price
Special to the UCBJ
COOKEVILLE – Four firms were officially chosen as pre-qualified bidders for Cookeville’s new police headquarters during the July 18 city council meeting. The four firms approved unanimously were: Sain Construction Company, Manchester; W & O Construction, Livingston; T. W. Frierson Contractor, Inc., Nashville and J. Cumby Construction, Inc., Cookeville. Final bids from the pre-qualified bidders will be due Aug. 1.
Six firms submitted qualifications by the July 9 deadline. Firms not chosen were J&S Construction, Cookeville, and Mid-State Construction Company, Livingston.
The pre-qualification criteria requested was very detailed and designed to whittle the contractors down to the firms that best fit this particular project. The city is now required to select the low bid submitted on Aug. 1 or begin the entire process again.
During the council meeting, Mayor Ricky Shelton offered the following statement:
“On behalf of this council and the staff, I would like to acknowledge – for the record – that the companies that submitted for this very important project are all highly successful and qualified companies that contribute greatly to our community, their industry and to the entire Upper Cumberland region!
“The process that was established for pre-qualification for this particular project was just that – a process requesting very specific information for this very specific public safety building. Past experience building public safety facilities was just one of the many critical items of the pre-qualification process. This process in no way implies a company is inadequate – it simply identifies the companies who best meet the specific requirements for this particular facility.
“I want to thank all the companies that submitted and appreciate all the time and effort put forth by city staff.”
