Ocala council removes Davis–Bacon requirement for downtown parking garage contract after merchants describe business losses

The Ocala City Council voted to remove Davis–Bacon requirements from the contract with SSC Construction Management for the downtown parking garage, after a group of downtown business owners described reduced foot traffic and intermittent road closures that they say have hurt sales.

At a public comment segment before the vote, multiple downtown business owners said construction activity and unclear traffic patterns have caused steep declines in customers. Sarah Partee, owner of the Gathering Cafe, told the council her business has seen “about a 50%” drop in customer visits and reported a construction-related water outage on the cafe’s busiest day. Ricky Nabok, store manager for the T‑Mobile at Pine Avenue and Broadway, said monthly customer counts were down roughly 18% and that appointment-based businesses need advance notice of road closures. Jay Richmond, Starbucks manager, said the store was down 20–35% and urged more consistent daily cleanup, improved signage and scheduling work outside peak morning hours. David Armstrong, co‑owner of the Gathering Cafe, asked the city to pave and stripe a gravel lot the city opened near Fort King and Third to provide safer, clearer temporary parking for customers.

City Engineer Sean Lanier said staff recommended removing the Davis–Bacon requirement from the parking garage contract; he described the item as supporting the city’s “operational excellence and quality of place” goals and answered merchants’ questions about how the city expects to reduce construction impacts. Lanier said the portion of Third Avenue and Fort King that had been delayed for drainage tie‑ins would receive a 1‑inch temporary working topping to smooth areas cut for utilities, with a full repave to follow after project completion. He said the paving can be scheduled on weekends or low‑traffic periods and that staff will seek to provide weekly delivery and closure schedules to downtown businesses when heavy precast deliveries or erection are planned.

Council members and business owners suggested additional mitigations, including (1) clearer, professional signage; (2) advance notice of road closures and heavy truck deliveries; (3) a contractor‑provided traffic flagger or marshal during busy workdays; and (4) temporary parking striping and pedestrian access improvements for the gravel lot south of Fort King and Third. Lanier said staff would coordinate routes and signage, evaluate temporary paving and sidewalk restoration, and work to be “nimble” as the contractor sequences deliveries.

An attorney representing several downtown merchants, Joseph M. Hanrani, noted the city would save about $61,000 by removing the Davis–Bacon requirement and asked the council to use any savings to help affected businesses. The council did not specify a use for the savings during the meeting.

The motion to remove the Davis–Bacon requirement and proceed with the contract amendment passed on a roll call vote. The meeting record shows the motion was approved by the council (tally recorded as unanimous).

Council members directed staff to provide more frequent scheduling updates to merchants and to explore temporary paving, signage and traffic control options to reduce business disruptions while construction continues.

Votes and next steps: the council approved the contract amendment removing the Davis–Bacon requirement; staff said they will provide weekly schedules for heavy deliveries, pursue weekend/low‑impact paving where feasible and evaluate installing temporary striping and pedestrian improvements in the gravel lot referenced by merchants.