Bid Tabulation Results for 2022 Nutley Capital Roads Improvements
Dear Nutley Township
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
Please send the final and compiled bid tabulation (Bid Tally), including all quantities and unit pricing for each bidder, for 2022 Nutley Capital Roads Improvements that was submitted on 6/7/2023 11:00 AM.
Below is an example of the format we are looking for that the engineer usually creates at the completion of the bid:
| | BIDDER 1 | BIDDER 2 |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Item | Description | QNT | UNIT | AMOUNT | UNIT | AMOUNT |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
Please send all documents electronically.
Thanks,
PPA
Dear Nutley Township,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Open Public Records Act reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Nutley Township's handling of my OPRA request 'Bid Tabulation Results for 2022 Nutley Capital Roads Improvements'.
We are still awaiting a response. By law, this response is considered delayed, and you are normally advised to respond by this point.
Yours faithfully,
PPA
Good afternoon,
We responded to this OPRA request on June 15, 2023. However, it may not have reached you because it appears that the email address for the response was not the correct one. This happens sometimes when requestors use OPRA Machine because the site creates a system-generated email address with a long range of random characters. Going forward, I suggest that you utilize your own email address in order to avoid these issues with the system-generated email addresses.
Below is my response, and attached are the records responsive to your request.
PPA,
This correspondence shall serve as Nutley Township (the “Township”)’s response to your request for access to government records pursuant to the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, et seq. (“OPRA”), which was received by the Township on June 8, 2023 during regular office hours. Below is a list of each request for access and the Township’s response to the same:
“Please send the final and compiled bid tabulation (Bid Tally), including all quantities and unit pricing for each bidder, for 2022 Nutley Capital Roads Improvements that was submitted on 6/7/2023 11:00 AM. Below is an example of the format we are looking for that the engineer usually creates at the completion of the bid:
| | BIDDER 1 | BIDDER 2 |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Item | Description | QNT | UNIT | AMOUNT | UNIT | AMOUNT |”
Attached please find the record responsive to this request. Please note that our bid tabulations do not include unit pricing for each bidder. Custodians are not required to create new records in response to an OPRA request. See Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005).
To the extent that you have also requested access to the above government records under the common law, your stated interest in obtaining the records must be balanced against the Township of Nutley’s interest in nondisclosure. See Loigman v. Kimmelman, 102 N.J. 98 (1986). The foregoing response to your request for access to government records incorporates the aforementioned balancing test. Please note that "a party's status as a litigant does not enlarge its access to government records under OPRA”. MAG Entm't, LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 545-46 (App. Div. 2005). The Township of Nutley reserves the right to raise any other grounds for denial not raised in this response. Failure of the Township of Nutley to assert an exemption or privilege does not act as a waiver of any grounds for denial. Furthermore, a reviewing Court or the Government Records Council ("GRC") may deem a denial of access to be authorized on grounds other that those advanced by a custodian. See Paffv. Twp. of Plainsboro, A-2122-05T2, 2007 WL 957289, at *2 (App. Div., Apr. 2, 2007), affirming, Paff v. Township of Plainsboro, GRC Complaint No. 2005-29 (March 2006). If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Township of Nutley to deny access. At your option, you may either initiate a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the GRC by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or on its website at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
Sincerely,
Ceci Tramontana, RMC
Deputy Municipal Clerk
Municipal Clerk’s Office
Township of Nutley, NJ
Office: 973-284-4955 | Direct: 973-284-4951 x2233
Fax: 973-284-5668
1 Kennedy Drive
Nutley, New Jersey 07110
www.nutleynj.org
Dear OPRA,
This is not the document we are looking for. Do you have an itemized list with unit prices per item from each bidder?
Yours sincerely,
PPA
Dear PPA,
As stated on my email below, our bid tabulations do not include unit pricing for each bidder. The responsive record was created for the Township's use at the time of the bid opening. Custodians are not required to create new records in response to an OPRA request. See Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005).
If you are interested in seeing the unit pricing for each bidder, you may submit a new request and ask for copies of the unit pricing pages from each bidder's proposal instead. The requested document on your current request was the bid tabulation, and we provided the responsive record we have on file accordingly.
Thank you,
Ceci Tramontana, RMC
Deputy Municipal Clerk
Municipal Clerk’s Office
Township of Nutley, NJ
Office: 973-284-4955 | Direct: 973-284-4951 x2233
Fax: 973-284-5668
1 Kennedy Drive
Nutley, New Jersey 07110
www.nutleynj.org