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Albany awards $9.3 million CMAR contract to JCI for Bill Miller community center and Carver Gym renovation
Summary
The commission approved a Construction Manager at Risk contract to JCI General Contractors for $9,311,719 to build a community center at Bill Miller/Malone Park and renovate Carver Gym; commissioners pressed contractors and staff on minority participation and price differences with the competing bidder LRA.
The Albany City Commission voted Dec. 19 to award a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) contract to JCI General Contractors of Moultrie, Georgia, for a total expenditure the city reported as $9,311,719 to construct a community center at Bill Miller/Malone Park and to renovate Carver Gym.
City procurement staff said the procurement process included two phases — written proposals (price and technical submissions) and an interview — and that JCI was selected as the most responsive proposer after the combined evaluation. Staff provided component budgets for the two projects: roughly $4,462,359 for the Bill Miller portion and $4,849,360 for the Carver Gym renovation.
The award prompted sustained questioning from commissioners about minority and disadvantaged-business participation and about the selection of a higher-priced proposer over a lower-priced rival, LRA Constructors. One commissioner noted the difference between the two shortlisted firms’ budgets was about $500,000 and asked why price differences did not determine the recommendation; procurement staff said the selection followed pre-established evaluation criteria and that the interview phase and "goodness of fit" scoring affected the final recommendation. "This was a very, very competitive process," a city procurement presenter said during the proceedings.
JCI’s vice president, Jack Lloyd, told commissioners the firm plans to host town halls and assemble bid packages to encourage local and minority subcontractor participation when the construction-phase procurement begins. Jake Reese, president of LRA Constructors, which was shortlisted and attended the meeting but was not selected, said his firm also has a track record of delivering minority participation on local projects and said LRA would generate a budget from existing design documents to keep costs under the city's stated target.
On a roll-call vote the commission approved the resolution; the recorded vote included one 'no' and a majority 'yes.' City staff said the CMAR award moves the projects into the budget-and-design phase, after which guaranteed maximum prices will be established during the construction-phase procurement.
The commission asked staff to provide lists of selection-panel members and to return reports tracking minority subcontractor participation as the project advances.
