A groundbreaking for Warwick’s outdoor ice rink is set for April 25 at 11 a.m. after an unusual series of events that saw council approve a contract only to have a competing contractor contest the award with the city coming up with more that a half million dollar savings.

On April 1 the council approved Tower Construction’s $7.2 million bid, ruling it was the lowest even though the Bentley Builders, LLC bid was lower by about $50,000. The city reasoned that bid unit prices actually made their bid higher. Bentley gained a temporary injunction stopping the city from the award. In its argument Bentley pointed to inconsistencies in the Tower bid. A court hearing was set, but before it reached that stage, both contractors agreed to withdraw their bids and rebid the project. When those bids were opened, Bentley was the lowest and the overall contract at $6.7 million was a $503,334 saving over Tower’s first bid.

 “One of the arguments that Bentley made that I believe resonated with the judge was that there were deficiencies in Tower Construction’s bid also and they, too, should have been disqualified,” Warwick City Solicitor Michael Ursillo said. “What the judge did is put down a hearing date on April 17 and gave notice to all the parties.”

Bentley and Tower met, working out an agreement to rebid prior to a court hearing. Offering the rebid, according to Ursillo, meant that Bentley would dismiss their litigation against the city.

No representatives or lawyers from Tower spoke at last Friday’s meeting. Former Cranston mayor Allan Fung, representing Bentley, said that Bentley’s rebid was notably lower than their previous bid.

“We stand by our bid,” Fung said.

The vote passed 7-1, with Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur the only vote against approving Bentley. Ward 2 Councilman Jeremy Rix was not in attendance.

Ladouceur opposed the bid due to what he called a “sloppy process” and questioned whether a special meeting should have been called in the first place.

“As you know, I’ve been complaining about the bid process for well over two years,” Ladouceur said. “Awarding to vendors that don’t submit bids, awarding bids for things that don’t add, no one checking the bid totals. And here we are with this mess, where the city is being sued as a result of the bid process.”

The councilman called the rebidding process for the rink hypocritical, saying that he had been denied rebids that he had requested in the past and wasn’t sure what made the ice rink bid different. He also said that other companies bidding on the project should have gotten a chance to rebid the project.

Ursillo said in response to Ladouceur that the special meeting had been transparent, and that the council was good to move forward with Bentley’s new bid.

A sponsorship deal has already been reached with Greenwood Credit Union for the rink’s naming rights. The credit union bid $300,000 for the rights, beating out Dave’s Marketplace’s bid of $260,000.

The rink’s approval was good news to Mayor Frank Picozzi, the main proponent of the ice rink. Picozzi said that he hopes to get the rink built as soon as possible in order to make sure the city can get necessary materials as soon as possible.

“Every minute is crucial now,” Picozzi said. “We’re here a lot later than we wanted to be. Construction season is coming up.”