Miron Construction will drop lawsuit against Green Bay over park project

A Fox Valley construction company is dropping a lawsuit it filed against Green Bay over concerns about the city’s bidding process for a park pavilion project.

In a statement Monday, Neenah-based Miron Construction said that it would stop pursuing the dispute in court, saying the city responded to its questions about the project in court filings. 

Late last year, Miron sued Green Bay to block it from awarding a $4.95 million contract to Hatley-based 8Pine Inc. to build a new pavilion in Leicht Memorial Park. The project also includes site improvements like landscaping, pedestrian pathways and utility connections.

Miron’s suit argued that irregularities in 8Pine’s bid for a park project made Miron the lowest responsible bidder under state law. The suit argued 8Pine didn’t address updates to the project the city issued during the bidding process.

In a legal filing, the city of Green Bay said 8Pine responded to those updates via email “less than an hour after” the scheduled bid opening.

“Following review, the City determined that 8Pine’s bid reflected awareness of the Project scope and pricing requirements and that any omission identified by Miron did not affect price, quality, quantity, or competitive standing,” the city’s filing reads.

In a statement issued Monday, Miron said it requested information from the city several times before filing the suit but its requests were ignored. The company says the city only responded to its concerns via court filings. 

“If the City had responded to Miron’s multiple inquiries, this matter could have been resolved without Court intervention,” the statement read. “Now that the City has acknowledged Miron’s concerns, Miron has elected not to pursue this dispute any further and will defer to the City’s decision to waive the bid discrepancies Miron identified.”

In a statement, Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich said the city acted within its statutory authority and discretion in evaluating bids for the park project. He said the city welcomes Miron’s withdrawal of its “meritless claim.”

“The City values the work we do with our private partners in the construction industry, and we are always interested in improving city processes to facilitate cost-effective and efficient work,” Genrich stated. “Moving forward, we will continue to welcome the input of all citizens, businesses, and organizations in the community, and we look forward to breaking ground on this project in the near future.”