City staff recommends Carol Daniel/FS360 joint venture as construction manager at risk for new Forest Park city center

Forest Park staff presented a recommendation to engage Carol Daniel Construction, in joint venture with FS 360, as the construction manager at risk (CMAR) for a proposed new city center that would include city administration, police headquarters, municipal court, recreation facilities and below-grade structured parking.

The recommendation followed an August request for proposals and a scoring process in which four proposals were received and three remained responsive. A procurement representative told council that after interviews Carol Daniel Construction was the highest-scoring proposer and that references returned strong ratings.

Why the decision matters: The CMAR will lead preconstruction cost evaluation, produce a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) once negotiated and manage construction methods, safety and subcontractor coordination. The role changes the city—rom a design-bid-build contracting structure to a delivery model in which the CMAR assumes responsibility for project construction costs under a contractual GMP.

City staff said the recommended joint venture (Carol Daniel/FS 360) emphasized local subcontractor outreach and diversity. Ernest Ellis, president and CEO of FS 360, described prior work in Forest Park as a task-order contractor, recent partnerships on Clayton County projects and outreach events intended to expand the pool of local, diverse subcontractors. Cameron Thomas, project executive for the joint venture, outlined project-management tools (P6 scheduling, Procore project management) and quality controls such as mock-up panels and weekly progress reporting.

Cost and schedule: City procurement staff said Carol Daniel submitted the lowest cost and received maximum cost points in scoring. According to staff, Carol Daniel revised its general-conditions proposal during negotiations from about $3.4 million to $2.7 million; the preconstruction fee of $25,000 would be waived at contract initiation; and the firm proposed a construction-phase fee of 1.9 percent. Other firms had offered shorter schedules (an 18-month completion) during interviews; procurement said the interviews led to follow-up negotiations to reach best-and-final offers.

Council members asked about local outreach and contractor capacity. Procurement and the joint-venture representatives said they held an outreach event that drew about 30–40 vendors, used social media and partner databases and plan additional meet-and-greet events in Forest Park to build a local subcontractor roster. Ernest Ellis, who also said he serves with the National Association of Minority Contractors tlanta chapter, described mentorship and prequalification steps used to pair smaller firms with larger contractors.

No formal award vote was recorded on this item in the transcript; staff said next steps would include working with the city's legal office to draft a contract and scheduling a notice-to-proceed meeting if the governing body approves proceeding with the recommended firm.

Ending: City staff asked for direction to move forward with contract drafting and additional community outreach; council discussion that evening did not include a recorded contract award vote. If the governing body chooses to approve the recommendation, staff said legal would prepare the contract and schedule a notice-to-proceed meeting with the vendor.