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KEVIN GUTTING

981 Park Hill Road, front view.

NORTHAMPTON - Controversy surrounding a house bought by the city near the Glendale Road landfill continued Wednesday night, as the Board of Public Works voted 2-1 to reject the highest conforming bid for the Park Hill Road property, delaying the sale of the home for at least another six weeks.

The board had appeared poised to accept a bid of $316,800 submitted by Seth Mias for the 981 Park Hill Road home prior to Wednesday's meeting, but elected to reopen the bidding process on the residence after Richard Tremaine argued that his higher bid had been unjustly rejected.

Tremaine, the new associate director at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds, had submitted an "over-under" bid meaning his bid would automatically have come in $1,000 higher than the next highest bidder's, up to a cap of $359,000.

Speaking before the board, Tremaine said he had been informed by the city's procurement officer, Joseph Cook, that his proposal was illegal in the eyes of the attorney general's office and was thus rejected. He argued that his real estate agent, Kathy Borowski, had been told that his bid's structure conformed to the bid specifications by the agent hired by the city, Lisa Darragh.

"I think we were unjustly misled," Tremaine said following the meeting. He noted that the city had accepted his $1,000 payment, a requirement for bidding on the home.

"This just boils down to fairness," he said.

Wednesday's developments mark the latest chapter in a long-running saga over the Park Hill Road property. The home had been owned by a pair of prominent critics of the landfill's expansion, Linda Hiesiger and Ellen Tobiassen, who bought the property for $486,000 in 2006. They were frequent callers to the city's landfill odor hotline.

Last year, the city negotiated a settlement with the two women under which it purchased the home for $545,000. The city's first two attempts to sell the home produced no bidders.

Darragh rebutted the notion that she had supplied Borowski with faulty information.

"Kathy did state that I said it (the bid) was OK. But that conversation never took place," Darragh said, speaking to the gathering. "It is the responsibility of the buyer's agent to get the information and the correct information."

The meeting produced one unusual back-and-forth exchange between the two sides. At one point, Tremaine removed his cell phone from his pocket and put Borowski on speaker-phone so she could address the gathering.

Borowski said she asked Darragh if she could submit an over-under bid.

"Her response to me was, #I don't think that would be a problem.'"

In a phone interview following the meeting, Mias expressed dismay that the board had elected to reject his bid.

"I do feel penalized that we've put in the highest conforming bid and had it rejected," he said. "We came in, had the highest bid, signed a purchase and sale agreement, and had been told the other gentleman's bid had been rejected over a technicality."

While Mias said he did not plan to sue the city over the issue, he said he would consult with his lawyer about the turn of events. He said he hoped the city would seek an alternative remedy to the situation and not reopen the bidding process.

Yet he noted that even if the city does reopen the process, he might not bid on the house.

"I am in the process of looking at other properties right now," Mias said.

Tremaine, an Air Force veteran and leg amputee, said there was "no question" he would rebid on the Park Hill Road home. The 3,000-square-foot building's hardwood floors and master bedroom suit the wheelchair he uses when he removes his prosthetic leg, Tremaine said.

The home would also suit the needs of his four children, Tremaine said. The family has been living at the Marriot Hotel in Hadley since June 7.

"It's tough on the kids," Tremaine said of living in the hotel.

The Park Hill Road home sits on 2.4 acres of land and features four bedrooms, three bathrooms and cathedral ceilings.

Terry Culhane, Board of Public Works chairman, said all municipal bid processes follow specific regulations and it will be at least six weeks before the city can accept bids on the property again.

"It will be almost October before we are looking at bids again," Culhane said. The BPW chairman expressed frustration with Wednesday night's vote, saying the bid specifications laid out by the city required buyers to name their price.

"It (Tremaine's bid) is clearly non-conforming," he said, in a phone interview following the meeting. "We said, name your price, and he did not. I just feel badly because we had four other people follow the rules."

Only four of the Board of Public Works' seven members attended Wednesday's meeting. As chairman of the committee, Culhane abstained from voting. He said it was long-standing practice for the committee's chairman to abstain unless his vote was necessary to break a tie.

Culhane expressed regret that the full board did not get a chance to discuss the matter. He said the board would have tabled the decision, but had been forced into action by the fast-approaching closing deadline.

The date of the closing had been scheduled for Aug. 20.

The proposal to reject the Mias' $316,800 bid and reopen the process was supported by board members David W. Shearer and Gary Hartwell. The two board members also supported a motion to reject the remaining three conforming bids.

"The cleanest way to clear it up is to have it rebidded," Shearer said, speaking to the gathering.

Jim Dostal was the lone voting board member to support Mias' bid.

"I don't think we are standing on good ground if we don't accept this bid," he said, noting there was no guarantee that the bidders who bid on the property last time would still be in the market for a home next time around.