The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-02-05
WILL NOT
BID ON CITY HALL
WAS LOWEST BIDDER JAN. IA.
SAYS ARCHITECT WAS RESPONSE
BILE FOR THROWING OUT BID.

Atlanta Contractor Gives Reasons
for Not Submitting Bid Under Re-
vised speciRcatiOns-CIaim He
Contract - Seven Bids VIII
BE FiIed-Bids Will Prob
ably Range from $1sO,OOO to
&21O,OO0-Lewman Says Building
Should he Erected for 100000.
Every member of City Council yes
terday morning received a letter from
M. T. Lewman & Co. of Atlanta an
nouncing that the firm would not
again submit bid for the building of
the new City Hall for the reason that
they were not fairly treated by Super
vising Architect Witcover.
For the second time bids for the
erection of the new building will be
opened tomorrow afternoon at
o'clock at the office of Mayor Myers in
the City Exchange. The Mayor and
members of the Building Committee
feel sure that they will be able to
award the contract from the list of
bids to be submitted this time. Seven
of the eight former bidders have noti-
fed Architect H. w. Witcover of their
intention of fling bids in accordance
with the revised specifications.
1t is the opinion of members of the
Building Committee that the bids will
range from $1SO,OO0 to about $4,000
The lowest bid submitted Jan. IA was
$194,969, which was filed by the firm of
M. T. Lewman & Co. of Atlanta. This
bid was rejected after being con-
sidered by the Building Committee for
one day. The reason given for reject
ing the bid was that the contractors
had not complied with the specifica-
tiions furnished them by the archi-
tect.
This firm is the only one that has
declined to submit a bid under the re-
vised specifications and in the letter
addressed to each member of Council
the Lewmans gave as their reason for
not submitting "A second bid that they
were unjustly deprived of the contract
when the bids were opened in January.
Lewman BIames Architect WitcOVer.
They charge that their bid was by far
the lowest filed in January, and say
that Architect Witcover had informed
them that he would do all in his power
to have the bid thrown out because
they had not consulted him before sub
stituting stone for the interior facing
instead of terra Gotta and brick, and
making other unimportant changes. In
the letters addressed to the aldermen
the Atlanta contractors say even if the
entire amount of material called for in
the specifications where they made
changes, had been added to their bid
that they would have then had a much
lower bid than any other submitted.
"Mr. Witcover's opposition to u.s."
the letter says, Seems to be
from technical, or other,
standpoint rather than one of econ
omy and results. Further, for your in
formation, our former bid was based
on our using all local sub bids, local
mechanics, labor, material. etc."
The firm also stated in the letter that
had it, believed rumors which were
heard regarding Architect Witcover's
attitude toward Lewman & Co, it
would not have submitted bid in
January. The contractors say the pow
er given the architect in the matter of
throwing out the bids was not exactly
in accordance with the wording of the
former specifications.
Would Bid Only $16O,OOO.
While declining to submit a bid for
contract where Mr.. Witcover is the
architect the Atlanta firm gives the
opinion that the City Hall should be
erected under the new specifications
for 100000 and with a reasonable lati-
tude it could carry out the general
idea in first class manner at an ex-
pense of $145,00O to $4,000
The revised specifications call for the
bids to be submitted in three different
plans. The first plan requires Georgia
marble for the first floor, and COM
pressed brick and terra Gotta for the
floors above. The second plan calls
for Winnsboro blue granite for the
lower floor, and limestone for the re-
mainder of the building. The third
plan specifies that the lower floor be
constructed of Georgia granite and the
upper floors of limestone.
Several of the bidders are now in
the city and Architect Witcover ex-
poets all the bidders to be represented
when the bids are opened. He refused
to discuss the letters which Lewman
Il Co. addressed to the members of
Council, further than to say that the
bid had been rejected because it was
not in accordance with the specifica-
lions. He said the statements in Lew
mans letter were so deliberately in
correct that he did not care to dis
cuss the matter.
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