Ocala council approves transit vehicles, safety contracts, water and airport grants; adopts legal settlement

At its May 6 meeting the Ocala City Council approved a series of capital purchases, professional services task orders, contracts and airport grant budget resolutions that city staff said will support transit operations, public safety, water infrastructure and airport development. The council also approved a recommended settlement in a 2022 automobile-injury claim.

Transit purchases: Tom Duncan, SunTran transit administrator, asked council to approve two Federal Transit Administration-funded vehicle procurements. The council approved the purchase of a 35-foot heavy-duty diesel fixed-route bus from Gillig for $717,172, purchased off the Jacksonville Transportation Authority contract. Duncan said SunTran had not purchased a fixed-route bus since February 2019 and the procurement supports fleet modernization and state-of-good-repair work. The council also approved purchasing a diesel trolley from Hometown Manufacturing Inc. for $422,819 after staff said delivery timelines for an electric trolley became uncertain; Duncan said the diesel trolley could arrive around Christmas and the diesel option saves about $152,000 that staff plans to reassign to other capital projects.

Police and public-safety contracts: Police Chief Mike Balkan presented requests to continue using existing cooperative agreements for equipment purchases. Council approved continued use of a Bradford County agreement and associated expenditures with Dana Safety Supply Inc. for vehicle and non-vehicle accessories through Sept. 30, 2029, for an aggregate amount of $425,000. The council also approved continued use of the State of Florida Department of Management Services term agreement for purchase of ammunition and defense products, a $462,700 authorization that the chief said covers munitions, less-lethal training rounds, SWAT equipment and related items.

Public works, architecture and engineering: City engineer Sean Lanier presented task work orders and procurement approvals. Council approved a task work order under the professional architectural services agreement with Monarch Design Group to design a conditioned truck shed and enclosed shop at Fire Station No. 7; Lanier said architectural fees for the work are roughly $132,000 and estimated the construction cost around $500,000. Council also approved additional task work orders under the continuing professional engineering services agreement with DRMP Inc. for construction engineering and inspection services, and approved a developer's agreement with WPG Triple Crown LLC to reimburse oversizing of water and sewer infrastructure to provide added capacity. The council awarded a construction contract to Precon Corporation for two ground storage tanks at Water Treatment Plant No. 2; staff said two responsive bids were received and Precon was the low bidder, with a maximum construction period of about 16 months.

Airport grants and resolutions: Matthew Grow, airport director, presented a package of FDOT grants and related budget resolutions totaling $1,576,202 with $394,050 in airport matching funds required across items. The package included design and construction grants intended to facilitate private hangar development (Alpha 9 street-side access and Alpha 12 grading/taxi lane design), airfield pavement rehabilitation at the T-hangar campus, procurement of a backup weather sensor and replacement rotating beacon, and concrete pad installations for a wash rack, fuel farm expansion and terminal-area parking. Staff recommended and council approved the separate resolution and budget items for each grant (council recorded multiple roll-call approvals during the airport segment).

Legal settlement: The council approved a settlement recommendation in Gregory Baker v. City of Ocala, arising from a Dec. 1, 2022 automobile accident involving a city employee and serious personal injuries to Mr. Baker. The city attorney said a jury would likely find the city liable and that the recommended settlement had been negotiated after mediation; he said the HR risk director and city manager recommended approval.

Votes and timing: The council recorded roll-call votes for the listed purchases, task orders, contracts, airport grants/resolutions and the settlement during the meeting; specific vote counts are recorded in the meeting minutes for each item. Several items had little debate; staff said many of the airport grants were unanticipated bonus grants from the state fiscal-year-end and staff recommended accepting them to advance airport projects.

Impacts and next steps: Staff said the transit procurements will be submitted under existing federal and state grant programs; the trolley procurement will allow downtown circulator plans to proceed without further delay. The police equipment contracts continue multi-year purchasing arrangements; the water-treatment tanks project has a multi-month construction window; airport grants will advance site-preparation and infrastructure needed to market private hangar development. Staff will return with contract documents, construction notices and permitting steps as projects move into implementation.