Venetian Causeway Streetscape Project Delayed, Again

News from the Venetian Causeway Neighborhood Alliance:

VENETIAN CAUSEWAY STREETSCAPE PROJECT DELAYED BY BID PROTEST

Things don't always work out as planned, and then there is the Venetian Causeway Streetscape Project. Intended to start in the Fall of 2009, this beautification and traffic slowing construction project by Miami-Dade County for the Venetian Way has been delayed, again, this time by bidding issues.

The proposed award to Ric-Man International, Inc. is now being challenged (the formal word is "protested" as in "bid protest") by Budget Construction Company. If the protest is resolved quickly, it is possible work could start in February. If not, we are looking at March or April 2010 as the earliest start date, because the protest has to find its way to the crowded agenda of the Board of County Commissioners.

When the initial bids came in late June 2009, Budget was the apparent low bidder, with a base bid a little over $6, 857,000, which was slightly under the base contract's estimated amount of $6,895,000. Ric-Man's base bid, the next lowest, was for $7,008,000. Following standard procedures, county staff reviewed the record of the low bidder in performing on prior county contracts. Budget's prior history was found deficient on several accounts (for those of you interested in a longer version, at the bottom is the County's summary of Budget's history of performance deficiencies).

Based on staff's findings, and its recommendation to pass over Budget, the County Manager in mid December 2009 decided, finally, to award the contract to Ric-Man and not Budget. Budget, however, filed a timely bid protest. It presently is scheduled for hearing on January 13, 2010.

If the protest is promptly settled somehow, work could start as early as February, 2010. If it is not settled, and the matter goes all the way through the process, the protest has to go to the Board of County Commissioners. They are unlikely to hear the matter until late February, and more likely March, with work in all likelihood not commencing until a month later.

Below is the County's summary of the reasons for not awarding to Budget:

The project was advertised on May 20, 2009, and on June 29, 2009 ten (10) engineering contractor firms proffered bids for the referenced project. The apparent lowest bidder, Budget Construction Co., Inc., (Budget) was deemed "Not Responsible." Budget was "Terminated for Default- by the Water PWD could not affirmatively determine Budget's capabilities to effectively execute the work that is needed for this project.