At tonight's Board of County Commission meeting, the Board voted to reject the bids received on the beach restoration project and put the project out for rebidding.  This action was recommended by Michael Dombrowski, our coastal engineer. 

Rebidding a beach restoration project is not an uncommon practice.  The decision to reject and rebid in our case was based on discussion and review of the permit as originally bid and changes that would positively affect the bid price significantly.    Discussion and negotiations have been ongoing with FDEP, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, representatives of the State Park, and all the dredging companies.  Largely the changes we are looking to make will be in the amount of time available to the contractor to complete the project and potentially looking at ways to modify other requirements as currently stated in the permit.

When asked to comment on the events of the past few weeks, Mr. Dombrowski stated, "The bid process can be very complex in any beach restoration project.  In our case, we're dealing with a very large project -- over 7 miles -- and factors like sea turtle nesting season and aquatic preserve designations.  We tried very hard to comply with the requests we received from the various agencies with our original bid package, but it has just proved to be cost prohibitive.   The good news is after our discussions with various agencies, we feel there's room to extend the construction window and possibly modify some of the other permit requirements.  By doing so, we protect the integrity of the project and anticipate these changes will bring the new bid in at or below our budget."

The decision to reject and rebid the project was discussed with and endorsed by our contacts and working partners at FDEP Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems.  Paden Woodruff, Environmental Administrator with the Beach Management Program stated, "The Department is looking forward to the rebid process in an effort to potentially save the state and local government funds.  With all of the revenue shortfalls at the state and local levels, it is important that we get the best price possible."

The dredging companies have all responded positively to the proposed changes in the project bid package that will go out as early as this coming Thursday.    It is anticipated that the Intent to Issue will come from FDEP prior to the time the bids are due to be received on July 27,2007.  The bids will be opened on July 30, 2007, and the contract will be awarded by the BOCC very soon thereafter.  Should anything arise that will impact this time table, adjustments will be made as quickly as possible to award the contract.

Once the contract is awarded we will advise you of the start date, estimated total project completion time and all other information we think will be useful to you as we move toward the construction phase.  It is likely we'll schedule a meeting of the SJPBAC at or around the time the contract is awarded.  We will advise you of the date and time as soon as it is decided.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@savethecape.com 

Additionally, we are still soliciting another secondary access point!  If you are in a position to offer up a secondary access point, the additional credit in our matching funds could be very important to the project!  If you would like to discuss a possible donation of an easement, please contact Paula Picket at 850-229-7800.