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Commission approves $67,657 contract to repair and upgrade bus stops on Clearwater–Largo Road after debate over county role
Summary
After discussion about whether the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority should fund shelter work, the commission approved a $58,832.76 contract (plus $8,824.91 contingency) to American Construction Services for bus-stop and shelter accessibility and ADA repairs funded with CDBG money; the vote was 5-1.
The Largo City Commission voted 5-1 on July 1 to award a contract to American Construction Services Inc. for bus-stop improvements along the Clearwater–Largo Road corridor, approving a base contract of $58,832.76 plus an owner contingency of $8,824.91 for a total estimated contract value of $67,657.67.
Vice Mayor Holmes led debate and argued for more detail before approval, pressing staff on how many stops and how many shelters the contract covers and why the city is paying for infrastructure that serves Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) routes. Holmes said the bids were disparate and questioned whether PSTA should carry maintenance responsibility for stops and shelters.
City staff replied that the project is a corridor-wide CDBG-funded effort to correct identified ADA deficiencies at stops and shelters originally installed with Community Development Block Grant money. Staff said PSTA participates in initial evaluations where stops meet its ridership thresholds—roughly 25 boardings per day for a shelter—but many of the stops in this targeted corridor were installed with city funds and have no maintenance agreement with PSTA. Staff said the scope covers modifications at all existing stops identified in the project assessment, not the addition of new stops.
Vice Mayor Holmes moved to disapprove the award but the motion received no second. Commissioner [motion maker not specified in the transcript] moved to approve the award to American Construction Services; the motion was seconded and passed 5-1.
Staff indicated federal Community Development Block Grant funding will pay for the improvements. The commission did not include a detailed itemization of how many individual stops versus shelters would be repaired during the meeting; Vice Mayor Holmes requested that staff return with a precise count and additional detail.
The contract award is recorded as approved with a 5-1 tally. Vice Mayor Holmes announced he would vote no; the record does not list which commissioners cast the five supporting votes.
Commissioners and staff discussed maintenance questions including broken plexiglass replacement and whether cost-sharing with PSTA applies for warranted ridership shelter stops; staff said maintenance agreements vary and replacement responsibilities depend on the specific shelter model and any cost-share arrangements, which were not fully detailed during the meeting.
