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pgurney

Beach Fanatic
Jul 11, 2005
587
66
ATL & Seacrest
" Commissioner Meadows made the recommendation due to their close proximity and familiarity with the area even though their bid was approximately $40,000 more than the other company in competition, Architectural Graphic & Designs. "

It sounds like just one other company. I wasn't able to make it to DeFuniak for the meeting so I can't give first hand info.

I do know if they keep awarding contracts in this manner nobody will bid. It costs companies time/money to create bids. Why would they go to the trouble, if they can't win on legitimate consideration?

I didn't catch that part in bold. You're right, people will quit bidding and the bidding process will become meaningless...if not already if this case is a common example.
 

Matt J

SWGB
May 9, 2007
24,646
9,496
Now this is an example of why we all should vote YES on Amendment 1. Take away the money and they will have to find a way to do it more cheaper.

I have to disagree with this. The low bid issue mostly. I worked at FSU in Tallahassee and as a state agency they were required to take the lowest bid. For years this resulted in a specific contractor always getting the bid simply by giving the lowest bid. He then made up his money with change orders.

They did finally change the bidding process to require more detailed bidding so that change orders would be less common. However in some cases this contractor would walk with way more money than the highest bid, and sometimes it would require another contractor to come in and fix many mistakes that were made.
 

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
There are a variety of rules/contracts already in use all over the country to prevent what you describe from happening.

It is standard for public projects to go to the lowest bidder.

If the lowest bidder can't build the project for their bid amount, they are SOL. They either have to build it for that amount or withdraw their bid and are required under the standard contract to pay the difference between their bid and the next highest.

Change orders aren't a carte blanche - they have to be approved.
 

wrobert

Beach Fanatic
Nov 21, 2007
4,134
575
61
DeFuniak Springs
www.defuniaksprings.com
I have to disagree with this. The low bid issue mostly. I worked at FSU in Tallahassee and as a state agency they were required to take the lowest bid. For years this resulted in a specific contractor always getting the bid simply by giving the lowest bid. He then made up his money with change orders.

They did finally change the bidding process to require more detailed bidding so that change orders would be less common. However in some cases this contractor would walk with way more money than the highest bid, and sometimes it would require another contractor to come in and fix many mistakes that were made.

This does sometimes get to be a problem. I remember about 8 years ago we put 3 new members on the school board. The first meeting was a litany of change orders for some project. Each one of them was denied, boy were their some upset contractors leaving there that night. They had certainly not seen that coming.
 

ckhagen

Beach Fanatic
Aug 28, 2006
539
53
Hm, I wonder how many companies have even realized that bidding these types of projects was an option. I mean, obviously they should know it is, but I used to be a graphic artist and bidding on county projects never crossed my mind. Apparently there's quite a bit of money to be made. Where does the county publish requests for bids? Seems like we should have a lot more local companies bidding on this type of stuff.
 

wrobert

Beach Fanatic
Nov 21, 2007
4,134
575
61
DeFuniak Springs
www.defuniaksprings.com
Hm, I wonder how many companies have even realized that bidding these types of projects was an option. I mean, obviously they should know it is, but I used to be a graphic artist and bidding on county projects never crossed my mind. Apparently there's quite a bit of money to be made. Where does the county publish requests for bids? Seems like we should have a lot more local companies bidding on this type of stuff.

The problem is that they seem to be published on the county website with little to no notice in the newspaper. I have asked that they set up a RSS feed or an announcement list that vendors could subscribe, so that these opportunities would be known. Been waiting on that for three years now.
 

seaside2

Beach Fanatic
Apr 2, 2007
785
12
All over the place
This is almost a never ending debate among not only public works projects but also privately funded ones. The problem becomes one of how well you can write specifications, etc. As long as you are buying commodity items (gasoline, gloves,etc), a simple specification works well. When you get more complicated (construction, legal services, stuff like that) you have to look qualitatively as opposed to strickly quantitative. It is a real pain to do it right.

And at the same time, the various vendors are spending more time figuring out how to beat the system than the purchaser can possibly spend figuring out how to prevent it.:bang:

Never ending circle.

And then you get into the issues of friends, political relationships, etc.:yikes:
 

Sarah Moss

Beach Lover
Apr 5, 2006
217
27
Black Creek
I wonder what kickbacks our commissioners get from these people. Why are they continuously awarding contracts and paying more than they should? To support their friends? :dunno: Instead of supporting 'local business' how about supporting the locals that pay the taxes!


(In Next week's Daily News)

Signtek's Portfolio Released.
school.jpg

This photo, taken from Signtek's portfolio, has Walton County residents questioning the BCC?s decision to hire the company for the County Road 30A/Timpoochee Trail Improvement Plan. When asked, Commissioner Cindy Meadows? stated that the generous company had sent the entire BCC and their families to various tropical islands to view samples of their past projects. ?We were so impressed with Signtek?s work in Cancun that we made a unanimous decision at the beach that day to use this company for all of our future sign needs.? Then she added, ?Oh, and they?re local.?
 
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