Anna Maria roof bids fall flat
By Rick Catlin. Islander Reporter
After four companies picked up bid packets for the roofing project at the Anna Maria City Hall, Mayor SueLynn and Tom Wilcox of the city’s engineering firm of Baskerville-Donovan Inc. were expecting all four companies to return competitive bids.
Alas, only one company submitted a bid by the 2 p.m. April 18 deadline, and the price was more than double what the city had budgeted.
Southern Roofing of Tampa submitted a bid for just under $140,000 for the roof, about $80,000 above the $60,000 budgeted for the project.
Wilcox said he was disappointed that only one company submitted a bid and its price appeared way above the engineering estimates.
"My guess is this is way too high. I’m sure we can get it done cheaper," he said, adding that BDI’s own estimate was between $60,000 to $70,000.
Wilcox said he would call the other three companies to find out why they didn’t submit bids after picking up packets.
SueLynn rejected Southern’s bid, noting it was technically incomplete and the city was not obligated to accept it. She directed Wilcox to set up bid packages again on May 3 for interested companies, with a bid opening scheduled for May 15.
"We just seem to have trouble getting companies to bid on these small projects," she said.
Wilcox agreed, noting that even Manatee County is having trouble getting competitive bids on some projects involving millions of dollars. |
