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Lake Wales commission weighs owner's-representative contracts for fire and police projects; costs and measurables cited
Summary
The commission reviewed a proposal from Colliers for project management services on a new fire station and a police annex, an architecture contract for Fire Station 3 and a Chastain Skillman task order for downtown utility work; commissioners emphasized measurable results such as reduced change orders.
City staff presented several procurement items tied to upcoming capital projects, and commissioners questioned whether hiring third-party owner's representatives and additional consultants would save construction costs over the life of the projects.
Dina Drumgo, assistant city manager, summarized a Colliers proposal to provide project-management services for the design phase of the planned Fire Station No. 3 on land the city purchased for a future station; Colliers quoted a total service fee of $71,910 (approximately $7,990 per month for nine months). Drumgo said the purchase of five acres aims to preserve service levels as the city grows in the southern and eastern areas.
Ken Guyett, senior director with Colliers, described the company's role as more than overseeing an architect: peer-reviewing design documents to reduce design omissions and minimize change orders during construction. Scott Cruz, the project architect, and commissioners debated how earlier owner-rep involvement could reduce later costs. Commissioners asked for measurable performance standards; one commissioner suggested tracking the number and cost of change orders to evaluate Colliers' effectiveness.
The commission also considered a separate architectural and engineering proposal with Parlier and Crews for Fire Station No. 3 with a stated fiscal impact of $246,000, and a Colliers proposal for the police station annex that would cover design, bidding, construction and closeout phases for a total fee of $177,281 (about $8,442 per month for 21 months). Staff noted the Colliers proposal for the police annex covers a longer scope than the fire-station design-only agreement.
In related work, staff presented a task order addendum with Chastain Skillman for construction drawings and permitting packages to upgrade water and sewer lines near Orange, Crystal and Market streets; the fiscal impact for that task order is $49,700. Staff said the utility work was not included in the project's original surface-level streetscape scope and that combining the work now would be efficient.
Commissioners repeatedly stated they supported owner's representatives early on for complex projects but requested measurable deliverables, especially a reduction in change orders and construction litigation risk; no formal contract approvals or recorded votes were shown in the transcript excerpt.
