Also on Monday Town Manager Roger Hernstadt will ask the town council for approval to spend $116,000 for benches, bicycle racks and garbage cans without going through the town’s bidding process.
The furnishings requested will be used for Bayside Park, one of the town’s big three projects: the Bayside Park redesign, upgrading Times Square and a new Bay Oaks facility. The town borrowed $10 million for construction of those projects.
Bayside Park is expected to be first to begin construction. The new park will see the gazebo and old fountain removed and replaced by trees, grass, shade from the sun and a new stage.
Hernstadt says the reason he wants to bypass the bidding process is to save tax and increased prices for site furnishings for Bayside Park.
According to a resolution to be considered Monday night, the design team has selected the benches, racks and garbage cans from Anova Furnishings, which would be customized with the town logo and include warranties for finishes, structural integrity and products ranging from 1 – 20 years. The lead time for the items is 11-13 weeks.
The vendor would honor last year’s pricing through October 4th which is the reason staff is requesting the town not follow their own rules to go out for bid.
Open the door to no bidding is a huge problem. This person can just resubmit their offer. But if you do this Pandora’s box will open and the town manager will use this every time he can to use his favorites. What if you are a supplier or contractor not even given a chance to bid. Doesn’t sound so good now does it.
Seems reasonable to use a vendor who has successfully delivered in the past, is honoring last year’s prices and is willing to commit to a reasonable timeframe. Time, labor and materials are higher and harder to come by in 2021.
Sounds reasonable
Sounds reasonable on the surface….
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