Hillsborough County committee moves to award rehabilitation contract to ProShot despite 22% overrun

The Hillsborough County Bid Review Committee voted to move forward with awarding the Bid Repair and Rehabilitation Program works contract (ISB2500088) to ProShot Concrete Inc., despite the low bid coming in 22% above the county's estimate, County buyer Connor Fletcher said during the committee meeting.

Connor Fletcher, buyer for the project, told the committee that the county's estimate was $15,096,155.76 and that the lowest bidder, ProShot Concrete Inc., submitted a low bid of $17,660,777. With NPI (non-price item) allowances added, the total was $18,410,777'1 a difference of $3,314,621.24, or about 22% higher than the estimate.

The overrun triggered the Bid Review Committee review required by board policy when a low bid for a capital project of $50,000 or more exceeds the construction estimate by 10% or more. Jay Buck, contract manager for the project, and Dana Mackey, section manager for Infrastructure Services, participated in the discussion; Ethan Kearns from Procurement Services attended as a nonvoting observer.

An unnamed project manager who presented the bid analysis said two bids were received and that the contract includes roughly 101 line items, which complicates exact estimating. The project manager said some line items were higher than expected while others were below estimates and that contractors price individual line-item risk differently. "So, overall, looking at the, you know, current market scenario and the work which we have to perform, I'm okay with the, you know, increase in our estimate, and I recommend to move forward with this contract," the project manager said. The project manager also said, "There should be enough money at this time to absorb that increase."

Committee members moved to proceed with the low bid from ProShot Concrete Inc.; the meeting record indicates the committee voted to move forward with the award. The meeting did not record a formal roll-call vote or list mover and seconder names in the transcript excerpt provided.

The project manager emphasized that the variability in bids stems from the number of line items and contractor risk assumptions; committee members agreed to advance the award for processing. Specific next steps for contract execution and procurement timelines were not specified in the portion of the record provided.

The committee noted the contract exceeded the county estimate by more than the 10% threshold that triggers committee review, and approved advancing the low bidder despite the difference. The committee discussion focused on the bid breakdown and market conditions rather than on alternative procurement options.

Votes at a glance

- ISB2500088, Bid Repair and Rehabilitation Program works contract: committee moved to proceed with award to ProShot Concrete Inc.; low bid $17,660,777; total with NPI allowances $18,410,777; county estimate $15,096,155.76 (difference $3,314,621.24, 22% over). Formal roll call not specified in transcript.