Sarasota News Leader

03/21/2014

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Siesta Seen that SWFWMD committed to the project. On Feb. 12, 2008, the County Commission approved a contract with SWFWMD for that funding assistance, the March 18 memo says. The amount was expected to pay for half the project's expense. Consultants' under- estimation of costs for facets of the project — especially the pipeline that extends 2,000 feet into the Gulf of Mexico — was cited as the reason for the higher overall expense. Erickson Consulting Engineers of Sarasota predicted the expense of the pipeline to be $681,475, but Forsberg's bid put it at $2,291,200. Erickson subsequently agreed to forgo about $6,000 of the approximately $250,000 in its consulting fees from the county for the error. "It's almost a slap in the face to give that small amount back to us," Commissioner Christine Robinson said of the offer before that April 2013 vote on the Forsberg contract. Regular readers know that because of rain delays last summer and fall, construction of the project has been running behind schedule, too. Last week, Isaac Brownman, director of capital projects in the county's Public Works Department, notified the commissioners by email that fabrication of the modular pump house that will be erected on the site had begun. The structure is expected to be deliv- ered about April 8, and it will take three to four weeks for it to be set up and wired into A couple stakes out a spot on Siesta Public Beach well back from the water on a recent March morning. Photo by Rachel Hackney Sarasota News Leader March 21, 2014 Page 111

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