by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The City does not have to take bids for construction work on its Bay Street Town Center, according to an opinion issued Monday by the General Counsel’s Office.
The decision apparently clears the way for construction to begin on a section of the street envisioned as downtown’s entertainment corridor. By skipping bidding, the City will save weeks on a project already facing a tight schedule to finish before the Feb. 6 Super Bowl.
According to an opinion issued Monday by Tony Zebouni, the general counsel’s general litigation division chief, the City will not violate State statutes by using a firm already under contract instead of allowing competitive bids for the near -$900,000 project.
Zebouni prepared the opinion at City Council request and forwarded copies to members of Public Works and the Council.
The State requires bids on public construction projects above $200,000. According to Zebouni’s opinion, the City will not violate State statutes by contracting the project to Onas, a minority–owned general contractor, without further bidding. The firm bid previously on a “continuing contract” that allows it to perform work as needed at a set rate. Zebouni said that bid kept the firm’s use on Bay Street within the letter of the law, although Onas never bid specifically on the work.
“Based on the facts that I have been provided and assuming that the (Onas) contract amounts I was given are correct, there is no prohibition in the Florida laws on using continuing contracts,” said Zebouni.
To keep prices low, the City usually bids projects the size of Bay Street, where the City plans to spend about $900,000 to widen sidewalks, install historic street lamps and landscape. Several City Council members and their auditors said there was nothing in the funding legislation they approved last week to suggest this project would be different.
“Usually, if the City isn’t going to follow the letter of the purchasing code, they would explain why they needed to depart from it,” said City Council Auditor Richard Wallace. “There was nothing in the legislation we saw that says they’re not going to follow State or City purchasing codes. We assumed it would be properly bid.”
Zebouni said the City uses continuing contract labor frequently. However, he said the contracts are most often used for smaller projects like cutting grass or fixing sidewalks.
Zebouni was told the City’s contract with Onas limits the firm to projects under $500,000. Zebouni said the City will have to change the contract to allow Onas to work on the more costly Bay Street improvements.