Saying he unintentionally gave aldermen bad information, Warrenton Mayor Greg Costello asked the board at a special meeting Tuesday night to reconsider a contract it awarded a week earlier. While reviewing four bids during a board of aldermen meeting July 21, Costello stated he believed Dale Hinton Hauling, LLC, to be out of the area. Noting the difference of just $41.25 between the two lowest bids, Alderman John Clark suggested the city award the contract to Bobby Hoelscher Trucking, Pendleton, the second-lowest bid. However following the meeting, city officials later learned that Dale Hinton Hauling is located in Wright City. Costello admitted he was responsible for Tuesday's follow-up meeting. "I don't believe this was a mistake by the board," he said. "I don't think you can expect an accurate, good decision with bad information. They were given bad information. I take this as my responsibility." Tuesday night, after reviewing the bids, aldermen decided to rescind their earlier vote and unanimously approved the bid submitted by Hinton. The city had received four bids to purchase rock for the Villa Duchesne overlay project in the Lake Chateau subdivision. The low bid submitted by Dale Hinton Hauling was for $13,200, followed by a bid of $13,241.25 from Bobby Hoelscher Trucking. The two other bids submitted were from Hasenjaeger Trucking ($14,231.25) and Richard J. Mertens Inc. ($16,788.75). All four hauling firms are located in Warren County. Dale Hinton, who attended Tuesday night's special meeting, notified Costello after he was told by another hauling firm about losing out on the bid. Hinton's business is located in Wright City along the North Service Road next to Phantom Fireworks. Costello had remarked at the July 21 meeting that Hinton's business was located in either New Florence or High Hill. "This board has been extremely fair with bidders in the past," Costello said Tuesday. "I think this board recognizes the importance that if we're not fair in our bidding processes, then it's going to be difficult for us to expect bids in the future." At the July 21 meeting, aldermen voted 4-2 to award the bid to Bobby Hoelscher Trucking. Aldermen Jerry Cullom and Beth Kendall cast the lone dissenting votes. Minutes earlier, they were the only board members to vote to award the bid to Hinton. Both Cullom and Kendall said they wanted to see the low bid selected. When Clark said he didn't know much about Hinton's company, Hinton responded that he supports local 4-H and FFA clubs and local businesses. Also serving as a tow truck company, Hinton said he serves as a backup if the two contracted Warrenton towing companies are tied up with other jobs. "We try to stay aggressive," Hinton said regarding his pricing. "We try to keep our business home. I don't want to go nowhere near St. Louis or St. Charles County. We try to stay out here and work." City officials noted they contacted the three other businesses to inform them about Tuesday night's special meeting. To help avoid a similar situation in the future, Costello suggested the board could draft a local bidder policy. It would be likely an outside firm would have to beat a local bid by an unspecified percentage amount. In addition, Costello recommended board members receive a copy of the bid attached to the bid tab comparing each of the submissions and be aware who was awarded the bid the previous year. In this instance, Costello said Dale Hinton Hauling was awarded the bid for the same project at the same price a year ago.