Tomorrow the Tallahassee City Commission will vote on accepting the staff recommendation to negotiate a “Construction Manager at Risk” contract with Ajax Construction to build the city approved public safety campus on the southside of town.
The final cost of the project will be determined once the contract is negotiated and project design is substantially completed. The project is included in the adopted FY19 Five Year Capital Plan, which allows for $6.5 million in funding to be raised from future bonds.
Three responses to the request for proposal were received and the city’s evaluation committee completed the review and scoring on October 18, 2018.
Ajax, a local company with 55 public safety and seven police headquarter projects to their credit, received the highest score.
The agenda item prepared for the city commission meeting reports that in “addition to meeting or exceeding all of the requirements of the RFP, Ajax proposes to apply their existing Minority, Women and Small Business Enterprise program and launch a new Disadvantaged Workers Program and Apprenticeship Workers Program, with the goal of developing long-term employment for individuals facing employment challenges.”
Allstate was rated highest in the two most important categories, “Experience/Past Performance” and “Staffing Plans/Resumes.”
The other two bidders were Culpepper Construction and Allstate Construction. Both are local companies.
This vote continues the city’s work toward the development of a community-focused public safety campus that will serve as the headquarters for the Tallahassee Police Department.
On February 28, 2018, the City Commission voted to acquire real estate for a public safety campus along the South Monroe Street and/or Orange Avenue corridors. The City Commission approved funding for the land acquisition and relocation assistance for current tenants on October 17, 2018.
I believe there are enough bonds out there already...maybe 20 years.