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Council narrows ARPA park bid, approves $2.182M award for Southwest Meadows Sanctuary Park work
Summary
After detailed line‑item review and questioning large variances among bidders, Southwest Ranches council approved an adjusted ARPA‑funded award to East Coast Builders for Sanctuary Park improvements and restrooms, excluding several add alternates to save about $435,000.
Councilors voted unanimously to award the construction contract for the ARPA‑funded Southwest Meadows Sanctuary Park improvements — including restroom facilities, stabilized parking and site work — to East Coast Builders and Developers after trimming some expensive alternates.
Staff presented the low apparent base bid of roughly $1.85 million and explained the full package with ad alternates totaled $2.617 million. Procurement staff and the town’s architect explained several line items showed large disparities across bidders, notably specialty divisions and stone veneer pricing. Procurement officer Christina Semararo said the procurement was a straight Invitation to Bid with a public opening and Q&A; the low bidder had asked the most clarifying questions during the pre‑bid and Q&A process.
Council and staff discussed options to exclude higher‑cost alternates (including an 8‑foot chain‑link fence, a stone veneer treatment and certain ceiling finishes) and to re‑bid or separately procure those items if needed. The contractor in the room, Frank Insalone of East Coast Builders, said his firm bid the plans as drawn and would only process change orders at the town’s direction or for unforeseen site conditions supported by geotechnical findings.
After debate about aesthetic concerns (mayor and council preferred a look consistent with the town’s rural identity rather than visible chain‑link fencing), council directed staff to remove alternates 3, 4, 10, 11 and 12 from the award and to issue the purchase order for the base bid and remaining alternates. The amended award total was stated as $2,182,000 — a reduction of approximately $435,000 from the full package.
Because ARPA funds must be obligated by year‑end, staff noted time constraints and recommended proceeding while excluding the specified alternates; staff also proposed rebidding the removed items if necessary. Council asked for a follow‑up spreadsheet documenting final allocations; staff agreed to circulate a detailed funding breakdown.
Next steps: town to issue purchase order to East Coast Builders for the approved scope, proceed with value engineering and schedule construction, and separately pursue bids or vendor options for omitted alternates if the town later decides to add them.
