What concerns do citizens have about the Key Colony Beach bid process for the LIVS-designed city hall complex?
Updated June 5, 2023
» No 3-D model of the LIVS-designed city hall complex was ever built or presented to the City Commission or the public to study before the plans were approved to go out for bid.
» The drawings the city provides on Demandstar are not the complete set of bidding documents.
City officials refused to make the bid package public but it is freely available online so contractors may bid. Visit the Download page here. 
» The full scope of the project is supposed to be in the bid and there is little room for extras. This City Commission could deluge the contractor with changes which cost an order of magnitude more than what they would have if included in the base bid. (Read this article about making a profit with change orders.) Quote of the Day
"I've never been to a bid opening
on the side of the road before."
» City officials contined adding addendums, making changes, and answering questions about scope, through at least June 3. The bid opening is June 5. Does anyone really think this management team won't be showering the contractors with change orders and upgrades through the build as well? Bad planning and "extras" are built in for contractors to make the most profit.
» "Landscaping will not be part of the bid" so all the lot clearing and any replanting will be a cost above and beyond the initial contract. This is an "extra" where contractors make the most profit. And KCB loses at least 13 mature trees including the large banyan when the city hall lot is clear cut.
» The need for Section 07010 Certification of non-Collusion "REMAINS OPEN: BY OWNER" meaning bad planning and yet another "extra" where contractors make the most profit.
» Plan sheet A14.1, #22, #23 and #24 states for GC to purchase, unload, assemble and install Workstations and Swing gate. There are no specifications or vendor information. "REMAINS OPEN: BY OWNER," in other words bad planning and yet another "extra" where contractors make the most profit.
» Here's the expected Scope Change Order #1: Enlarge the Post Office space to accomodate all the boxes dropped from the original post office. It's just "a few" more square feet but they will cost that order of magnitude more than if that space had been in the original scope.
• The current post office is about 33' x 65' or 2,145 s.f.
• The LIVS-designed post office wing is 42' x 46', about 1,932 s.f., or roughly 10% smaller. Despite that small reduction in space, the layout holds only about 830 boxes depending on size, a reduction of about 750 boxes or a loss of 47% from the existing building.
» One city commissioner told the city administrator to "fix this" post office problem. The city administrator told them to "contact do United States, Postal Service, directly."
» The LIVS-designed city hall complex has about 11,500 s.f. under roof including all the enclosed space, i.e. administrative offices, bathrooms, Marble Hall, police department, post office, and gun tower. The bid floorplans show space in the new building for 11 desks plus one postal clerk, so the realistic, finished $14 million construction cost divided by 12 people yields a cost of $1,166,666.67 per desk. Even if we take the city's impossibly low estimate of $6-8 million, that's still a cost of half a million dollars or more per desk.
» Bids were opened June 5, 2023, on the side of 7th Street and blocking the shoulder and walking path. "The bids received will subsequently be evaluated and ranked and presented to the city commission for its consideration and action." Who is reviewing the bids? Are the commissioners even privy to who is on rating the bidders in the most divisive and untransparent $14 million+ decision in KCB's history?
» The bottom line? There will be hundreds of "Changes of Scope" and change orders as management errors continue, meaning skyrocketing cost for the taxpayers.
» The city administrator opened just two bids in front of citizens on the side of 7th Street under the noisy air conditioner for the KCB Police Department trailer on June 5, 2023. The bid envelopes did not appear to be sealed. The KCB Police Department provided security.
• HOB Construction bid $8,375,000 (with several addenda).
• Persons Services Corp Industrial Contractor, Mobile, AL bid $12,487,948.70.
» Those bids are two- and three-times higher than the total approved bid for the new and larger Marathon City Hall.
» Unknown as of June 5, 2023, is whether either (or both) bids includes
• The cost, permitting, and time required for asbestos abatement in City Hall;
• The cost of change orders;
• The cost of landscaping (specified in the bid package as not imcluded)
• The cost of exterior lighting for the city hall lot;
• The cost of moving into the new building;
• The cost of new furniture and equipment for the offices and Marble Hall;
• And much more.
» Also unknown as of June 5, 2023, is who is on the "bid review team," what criteria they will use to judge the bids, and when the review will be presented to the city commission.
» The "review team" examining and ranking the bids for the LIVS-designed city hall projects is probably covered by Florida Sunshine laws which require such committee meetings be posted, advertised, and open to the public. They are meeting behind closed doors now. The bids themselves are public and should be available but are so far not.
» The city calendar shows a Regular Commission Meeting and Public Hearing sheduled for June 15, 2023.
» This list will be updated as more information is forthcoming.