Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/105484
Sarasota News Leader January 25, 2013 Page 15 A capital projects update distributed to the Sarasota County Commission early on the morning of Jan. 18 raised concern about the status of the stormwater project, which already has been delayed a couple of years. Under the heading, "Beach Road Drainage," Harriott wrote that the Procurement Department had returned the single bid unopened to the firm seeking to undertake the stormwater project. During a mandatory pre-bid meeting the Procurement Department hosted on Nov. 9, representatives from three firms were present: General Contracting Services of Placida, Mader Electric Motors of Fort Myers and the Meers Group of Rosebush, MI. None of them submitted bids that were opened this week. A graphic illustration prepared by Erickson Consulting Engineers of Sarasota in June 2012 shows details of plans for the construction of the stormwater pipeline into the Gulf of Mexico. Image courtesy Sarasota County Harriott added in his report, "Capital Projects is working with Procurement on the next course of action. The project is [partialWMD is involved we cannot even show local ly] funded by [the Southwest Florida Water preference [for an interested contractor] and Management District] … An extension on that unless we can turn this around quickly you grant will be required if the project is re-bid." will not be able to start when planned." With county offices closed on Jan. 21 for the She also pointed out, "My math shows that Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday, Comeven as originally projected before this decimissioner Nora Patterson — who lives on Sision, that the work will push close to Christesta Key — sent an email on Jan. 22 to Asmas. Could you let me know how this will be sistant County Administrator Tom Harmer, handled to avoid that issue and how quickly expressing concern about Harriott's note. we can handle the new bids?" "It is supposedly from staff info a … project [scheduled to take about 270 days] and was Procurement Analyst Peter A. Boers told the intended to begin a week after Easter," she News Leader the solicitation material for the stormwater project carried a clause saying wrote. that the county reserved the right to extend "That timing is pretty important to the varthe bid period if it received no responses or ious tourist accommodations in that area," just a single response. Patterson added. "If we returned that one bid unopened, how do we know it was not a nice One reason for returning the original bid unlow bid from a qualified bidder? Since SWF- opened, he added, was to prevent that firm