Title
Bid Award - Loblolly Woods Boardwalk Reconstruction (B)
This item is a request for the City Commission to authorize the bid award to Industrial Maintenance Services, Inc. DBA IMS Contracting, Inc. for the reconstruction of the boardwalk at Loblolly Woods Nature Park, located at approximately 2710 NW 8th Avenue.
Explanation
The boardwalk at Loblolly Woods Nature Park, spanning from NW 8th Avenue approximately 1400 feet north, has been closed since August 2020. Severe wood rot created a safety hazard that was beyond the capacity of City staff to repair.
In October of 2020 the Nature Operations Division reached out to Wharton-Smith, Inc., one of the City’s approved construction management firms for small projects (under $2M), to bid out the work needed to repair the Loblolly Woods Nature Park boardwalk and provide the City with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) proposal. Wharton-Smith, Inc. has experience facilitating boardwalk projects for the City of Gainesville (Sweetwater Wetlands Park), Volusia County (Smyrna Dunes Park), the City of Clearwater (Crest Lake Park) and many others.
The GMP that Wharton-Smith, Inc. submitted to the City far exceeded the available funds within the Nature Operations Division’s Boardwalk Replacement CIP fund, which was the anticipated funding source for this project. The Wild Spaces & Public Places (WSPP) program was brought into the discussion in December 2020 as a possible supplemental funding source for the project.
Upon review of the GMP, WSPP staff noted that Wharton-Smith’s markup for staffing, overhead and profit was a significant portion of the cost of the work. After internal discussions and evaluation of paving a trail in lieu of the boardwalk reconstruction, it was determined that the best path forward for the project would be to bid out the boardwalk work as a low bid procurement ITB through centralized City of Gainesville Procurement Staff and supervise the project in-house.
On May 12, 2021 the Purchasing Division solicited bids for the Loblolly Woods Park Boardwalk Reconstruction project. A mandatory pre-bid conference was held on May 26, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. at the existing northern limits of the boardwalk. A total of sixteen (16) vendors attended the pre-bid conference. All bids were due at 3:00 p.m. on June 16, 2021. A total of nine (9) bids were received by 3:00 p.m. Eight (8) of these bids were deemed responsive and responsible.
Staff recommends awarding this contract in the amount of $370,287.00 to Industrial Maintenance Services, Inc. DBA IMS Contracting, Inc. for the reconstruction of the boardwalk at Loblolly Woods Nature Park. IMS Contracting, Inc. was determined to be the lowest responsible, responsive bidder as stipulated by the City’s competitive bidding process.
Strategic Connection: This item is connected to Goal 3: A Great Place to Live and Experience
Fiscal Note
Funds in the amount of $400,287.00 are available for the Loblolly Woods Boardwalk Reconstruction project; $349,000 from the Loblolly Woods Park Wild Spaces & Public Places ½ cent sales tax project account and $51,287 from the WSPP unobligated fund balance. Funding above the construction contract amount with IMS Contracting, Inc. is for owner’s contingency.
There is no anticipated annual increase in operating and maintenance costs associated with this project.
Recommendation
The City Commission: 1) award the bid to IMS Contracting, Inc. for the reconstruction of the boardwalk at Loblolly Woods Nature Park; 2) authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contract documents and other necessary documents, subject to approval by the City Attorney as to form and legality; and 3) authorize a budget transfer in the amount of $51,287 from the WSPP unobligated fund balance to the WSPP Loblolly Woods unit number.