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Resident alleges county ignored procurement steps on three community-center projects
Summary
A public commenter alleged Suwannee County failed to follow Florida procurement law for three community-center design-build bids and questioned a reported cost increase from $3.9M to $5.5M; the item referenced in the comment was previously moved to be discussed separately by the board.
During public comment on Dec. 2, a resident read a prepared statement asserting that Suwannee County did not follow statutory procurement steps when awarding three design-build contracts for community centers. The commenter urged the board to reconsider awards and asked why the county reportedly moved from an aggregated budget of $3.9 million to a $5.5 million aggregate price for the three projects.
"Suwannee County completely ignored this process, and just awarded the 3 bids to 1 contractor without following the Florida statutes governing this process," the speaker read, citing concerns about short-listing, interviews and fixed-price contracting.
The comment named a bidder who requested reconsideration and accused the county attorney of making false statements about the procurement. The speaker also warned of up-charges and change orders and urged the board to ensure budgets and specifications are followed.
Earlier in the meeting the chair had pulled item 10 from the consent agenda for discussion; the board later handled that item in public and approved it after staff disclosed procurement irregularities on a separate, completed landfill project. The community-center allegations were not accompanied by a formal board response or staff presentation in the meeting record beyond the public comment; commissioners did not take immediate action to reopen award decisions at the meeting.
