It is amazing to me that there is actually talk of a lawsuit over not awarding the bid for the Winthrop Police Station to the third-highest bidder.

The idea of the bid process is to select a vendor who can provide a product or service to the exact specifications listed in the bid request at the lowest price. Usually the bid has requirements for a performance bond, references and other qualifications that will ensure that all bidders are relatively equal in terms of capability.

Once the bids are in and it is determined that all bid criteria have been met, the bid should be awarded to the lowest bidder. If that does not happen -- taxpayers beware -- no one will show up to bid on the next project advertised or the next. There are consequences to that.

Ann S. Roberts

Whitefield