Cost is $251,185 more than lowest qualified bid
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
* Northside VFD’s RFP – Page 1 – Page 2
* Feb. 4: Plans move forward on new fire station
Members of the Northside Volunteer Fire Department’s board of directors received five qualified bids for construction of a new Station 1.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Efforts to build a new Station 1 for the Northside Fire Department, located at the intersection of Bear Branch Road and Northside Drive, has hit another stumbling block.
Fire company officials want to award the bid to DR Reynolds, of Star, for $1,136,185. The problem with that is two-fold: First, it might not pass the common-sense test. The bid submitted by DR Reynolds is the highest bid submitted:
* Myrick Construction, of Biscoe — $885,000
* Hawks Builders, of Rockingham — $905,078
* Carpenter Construction, of Oakboro — $1,082,700
* Dan Company Builders, of Rocky Mount — $1,133,000
* DR Reynolds, of Star — $1,136,185
Second, the fire board’s preference likely won’t garner the approval of the Richmond County Board of Commissioners, which is required before the contract can be awarded.
Jim Chavis, chairman of the fire department’s all-volunteer board of directors, said it’s “premature” to discuss the issue any more than the five bids received. He said the fire department is still in “the selection process.”
But several documents, including emails between the fire department and County Manager Rick Sago, indicate the department has tried to move forward with awarding the contract.
The fire board has taken at least one vote — a 4-1 tally — to award the contract to DR Reynolds, according to an email sent to Sago last month from Gene Shaw, a member of the fire department’s building committee.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
DR Reynolds, Shaw wrote, offered the “only turn key bid.” No further explanation was offered.
The proposal submitted by DR Reynolds included dozens of “extras” and upgrades not asked for on the generally vague request for proposal. Under North Carolina General Statute 143-129, state law allows the contracting authority to negotiate with the low bidder.
Myrick Construction, the low bidder by $20,078 — and $251,185 lower than DR Reynolds — resubmitted its bid to match every extra and upgrade offered. Added items included a 5-inch concrete floor in the business area, solid core oak veneer doors, porcelain tile in the kitchen and heavy duty asphalt in all areas, not just the routine paths of heavy equipment but of all vehicle traffic including the parking area.
The “mostly expensive aesthetic items,” Sago said, don’t add “anything to the functionality of the building, or to the quality of the building. Nowhere in the plans and specs were these items specified.”
The building is to be paid for by revenue generated from the commissioner-approved special tax district. Northside Fire Department covers the largest territory in Richmond County.
Sago asked Myrick to modify their bid to match DR Reynolds’ in every facet. The result? Myrick’s price increased by $63,575 to $948,575 — still $187,610 less than DR Reynolds.
Here’s a breakdown of the cost per square foot of the original and modified bids:
* Myrick’s original bid of $885,000 — $112.02
* Myrick’s modified bid of $948,575 — $120.07
* DR Reynolds original bid of $1,136,185 — $143.82
In comparison, the new public safety building along U.S. Route 1 in the town of Pinebluff that houses the city’s police and fire departments was completed in January at a cost of $1,565,000 for 13,500-square foot building — or $115.92 per square foot. It’s a shell of a warehouse; the planned Northside Volunteer Fire Department, at 7,900 square feet, is to have an all-brick veneer on all four sides of the building.
Sago said it’s possible to award a contract to a company other than the low bidder in rare circumstances, including: if the company has had legal issues revolving around previous projects, its bond was pulled or if it was non responsive in its bid — meaning it didn’t meet the requirements of the original RFP. That’s not the case with Myrick, Sago said. The company has a stellar reputation and right now is working on other projects in Richmond County.
The fire department plans to use taxpayer money to repay the service debt on this project. Because of this, Sago noted that “it is imperative that the fire department board gets the best price for this building.”
Chavis said there was no internally established timeline for the Northside Fire Department’s board of directors to make a decision on what to do next. Attempts to reach other board members for comment were not immediately successful.
