2002-24828 Reso
RESOLUTION NO. ...... 2002-248~
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AWARDING A
CONTRACT TO THE TOWER GROUP, IN THE AMOUNT OF
$7,195,069.00, IN RESPONSE TO INVITATION TO BID NO. 02-
01/02, FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI
BEACH REGIONAL LIBRARY; ADDITIONALLY ALLOCATING
FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $506,044, FOR THE PROJECT
CONTINGENCY; WITH FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $751,079,
FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT BY URS CORPORATION-
SOUTHERN; FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $107,333, FOR
PROJECT CONCURRENCY FEES; AND FUNDS, IN THE
AMOUNT OF $103,440, FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT
PROJECTS OFFICE (CIP) MANAGEMENT, BEING AVAILABLE
FROM THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (RDA), TAX
INCREMENT 1998 BONDS, SERIES B.
WHEREAS, on September 23, 1998, the Mayor and City Commission adopted
Resolution No. 98-2904, authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an Agreement
with the firm of Robert A. M. Stern Architects (Stern) for the architectural and
engineering design of a Regional Library; a 400-space Parking Garage; and Park and
Streetscape Improvements in the area surrounding Collins Park (the Project); and
WHEREAS, on January 6, 1999, the Mayor and City Commission authorized
appropriation of the funding necessary to implement the Agreement with Stern and
authorized an amendment, which reflected a change in scope, deleting the Parking
Garage and adding surface lots to the Project; and
WHEREAS, in December 2000, Stern delivered the completed Project documents to
the City's Building Department for review and approval for permit, and the permitting
process was completed in November 2001; and
WHEREAS, on November 2, 2001, the Project was advertised for bid; pursuant to
Invitation to bid No. 02-01/02 (the Bid), a pre-bid conference was held on November 7,
2001 and six bids were received on December 19, 2001; and
WHEREAS, the Oversight Committee (construction sub-committee) met on January 3,
2002 to review and evaluate the bids of the three lowest bidders, which are within the
budget constraints of the Project and the evaluation consisted of checking on the
submitted schedule of values and comparing it against the project estimates; and
WHEREAS, the sub-committee recommended that the Project be awarded to the firm
of Regosa Engineering, Inc., for the amount of $6,895,993.51, as the lowest and best
bidder, and
WHEREAS, on January 28, 2002, pursuant to City Ordinance No. 2002-3344 (the City's
Bid Protest Ordinance), the City's Procurement Division notified all the bidders of the
City Manager's recommendation, and advised all six bidders in writing, of their rights to
protest the proposed award; and
WHEREAS, on January 29, 2002, the 3rt! low bidder, The Tower Group, filed a bid
protest alleging that Regosa Engineering did not meet the minimum requirements of the
Bid; specifically, The Tower Group alleged that Regosa did not comply with the
Minimum Requirement in the Bid that bidders must have a minimum of five years
experience in providing similar typelsize scope of work as indicated in the Technical
Specifications; as a result, the item was withdrawn from the City Commission Agenda
and a review was conducted by the Administration and the City Attorney's Office; and
WHEREAS, as a result of the bid protest, on February 13, 2002, Alex Lamis of Stem,
along with Michael Nardone of URS Corporation, and Jorge Chartrand of the CIP Office
visited six sites, two from each bidder, which were submitted as examples of projects
that would best exemplify a similar sizeltype of project as the Regional Library; and
WHEREAS, on February 21, 2002, Alex Lamis of Stem provided a statement, which
summarizes his evaluation and recommendation as follows: "...while any of the
contractors may be able to do a good job with the library, or may have other projects
that we have not visited that are a closer fit to the library type, based on the projects
visited and the materials thus far received, we cannot say with certainty that any of the
three contractors satisfy the CMB's criteria that the contractor have a minimum of 5
years experience with similar typelsize of projects"; and
WHEREAS, the minimum experience requirement was raised by the Cultural Campus
Oversight Committee, which recommended a minimum of 5 years of library construction
experience because of the previous situation the City encountered with the Bass
Museum construction; and
WHEREAS, this type of requirement made sense given the high quality finishes and
other architectural features requisite in a building designed by a world class architect
like Robert A.M. Stem Architects; and
WHEREAS, a key component for Stem was to have a bidder demonstrate experience
constructing facilities that contain the specific high quality finishes and architectural
features of the designed facility and experience constructing these finishes and features
in facilities of similar size, which should be noted is an experience-based requirement
and as such does not directly address the issue of ability; and
WHEREAS, in a meeting with the City Attorney's Office (CAO), the Administration has
been advised that the "5 year minimum experience requirement" is a material
specification and as such cannot be waived without incurring a potential legal
challenge; and
WHEREAS, upon careful consideration of the above information and site visits, the
Administration recommended Rejection of All Bids at the March 20, 2002 City Commission
Meeting; and
WHEREAS, on March 19,2002, the Tower Group, the third lowest bidder, filed a protest to
the Rejection of All Bids contending that they (The Tower Group) met the minimum
experience requirement to construct the project and the Administration resolved this protest
opining that the information and references available for review, at that time, did not clearly
demonstrate that any of the bidders evaluated met the minimum qualifications requirement;
and
WHEREAS, after discussion at the March 20, 2002 City Commission meeting, the
Administration was directed to evaluate three additional reference projects from each of the
three lowest bidders in an effort to ensure fair treatment and evaluation of all responsive
bidders within the budget, and to minimize potential delays and expense involved in a re-
bid; and
WHEREAS, the three lowest bidders, Regosa Engineering, SFCS, and the Tower Group
provided additional reference projects at the Administration's request with an emphasis on
projects of similar sizeltype to the Library (a 44,000 square foot building with high end
finishes and a construction budget of approximately $7.1 million); and
WHEREAS, on April 2, 2002, Alex Lamis of Stern, along with Todd Osborn of URS
Corporation, Tim Hemstreet and Jorge Chartrand of the CIP Office visited nine (9) sites,
three (3) sites per each bidder noted above, that were submitted as examples of projects
that would best exemplify similar size/type of project; and
WHEREAS, based on the additional site visits, the two lowest bidders, Regosa Engineering
and SFCS, Inc., have not demonstrated compliance with the minimum experience
requirement; and
WHEREAS, the third lowest bidder, The Tower Group, has demonstrated compliance
based on the latest submission of projects, and on the additional site visits, which also have
been built over the last five years; and
WHEREAS, based on the additional site visits, Stern has determined that the submitted
materials do not demonstrate compliance with the Minimum Requirement by Regosa
Engineering and SFCS, but has determined that Tower's materials do demonstrate
compliance with the Minimum Requirement; and
WHEREAS, on September 12, 2001, fees in the amount of $107,333, were
transferred from the Regional Library work order to the City's concurrency account; and
WHEREAS, the Administration is also requesting allocation of a contingency, from a
previous appropriation of $8,492,500, for the Project construction, in the amount of
$506,044, to address any future eventualities, which might arise during the construction
period; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Request for Qualifications No. -111-99/00, on June 27,
2001, the Mayor and City Commission, adopted Resolution No. 2001-24499, approving
execution of an Agreement with the firm of URS Corporation-Southern (URS), for
management services on various City projects; and
WHEREAS, the Regional Library at the Collins Park Cultural Center is one of the
projects in the Agreement, and fees, in the amount of $751,079, were approved for
the Project and Construction Management services by URS; and
WHEREAS, the CIP office will continue to provide management and coordinating
services on all City projects such as the Regional Library and funds, in the amount of
$103,440, are needed for the CIP management charges for the duration of the Project;
and
WHEREAS, funds for project management by URS Corporation-Southern; funds for
project concurrency fees; and funds for Capital Improvement Projects Office (CIP)
Management; are available from the Redevelopment Agency (RDA), Tax Increment
1998 Bonds, Series B; and
WHEREAS, based on the additional site visits, the subsequent evaluations by Stern
and City staff, and the recommendation by Stern, the Administration is now
recommending award of a contract for construction to the firm of The Tower Group in the
amount of $7,195,069.00 pursuant to Invitation to Bid 02-01/02.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and
City Commission award a contract to The Tower Group, in the amount of
$7,195,069.00, in response to Invitation to Bid No. 02-01/02, for the construction of the
City of Miami Beach Regional Library; and additionally allocate funds, in the amount of
$506,044, for the project contingency; with funds, in the amount of $751 ,079, for project
management by URS Corporation-Southern: funds, in the amount of $107,333, for
project concurrency fees; and funds, in the amount of $103,440, for Capital
Improvement Projects Office (CIP) Management, being available from the
Redevelopment Agency (RDA), Tax Increment 1998 Bonds, Series B.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 10th day of April 2002.
ATTEST:
~tP~
CITY CLERK
F:\WORK\$ALL\chartrand\Library\Tower Award Reso.doc
APPNMDMlO
FORMa LANGt.IAGI
& FORIXECUTION
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CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION ITEM SUMMARY
m
Condensed Title:
A Resolution Recommending Award of a Contract to The Tower Group in the Amount of $7,195,069 In
Response To Invitation To Bid No. 02-01/02, For The Construction Of The City Of Miami Beach Regional
Library.
Issue:
Shall the City award a contract to The Tower Group in the amount of $7,195,069 for the construction of the
Regional Library at the Collins Park Cultural Center?
Item Summary/Recommendation:
Pursuant to Invitation to Bid No. 02-01/02 for the Regional Library, the City received six bids of
which three were considered to be within budget. The City reviewed the credentials of the three
lowest bidders and obtained a recommendation from the City's consultant, Robert A. M. Stem.
The City reviewed representative projects from the three lowest bidders in order to ascertain
their experience with libraries or with projects of similar size/type. According to Stern, and
supported by URS, the City's Program Manager, and City staff, the submissions of the two
lowest bidders do not clearly demonstrate the specific experience necessary to meet the
minimum requirements of the Bid. Stern, URS, and Staff have determined that the third lowest
bidder, The Tower Group, does meet the minimum requirements and is the lowest and best
bidder. Additionally, the Administration requests the Redevelopment Agency appropriate funds
for the Program management fees, the Capital projects Office Management fees and the
project's concurrency fees from the RDA Tax Increment 1998 Bonds, Series B.
Advisory Board Recommendation:
The Construction sub-committee of the Cultural Center Oversight Committee recommended award to
Regosa, prior to the Bid Protest.
Financial Information:
Amount to be expended:
Finance Dept.
$300,000
$411,000
$9,203,500
Regional Library Capital
Improvements Fund 372
State Library Grant
Parking 1997 Fund 481
Source of
Funds:
TH RCM
T:\AGENDA\2002\APR1002\REGULAR\Reg. Lib. Cover Sheet.doc
AGENDA ITEM
R7G
4-10..02...
DATE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
www.ci.miami-beach.f1.us
m
To:
From:
Subject:
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
Date: April 1 0, 2002
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez . ~.,
City Manager . ~f"'VU
A RESOLUTIOJ]OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AWARDING A CONTRACT TO
THE TOWER GROUP, IN THE AMOUNT OF $7,195,069.00,
PURSUANT TO INVITATION TO BID NO. 02-01/02, FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH REGIONAL
LIBRARY; ADDITIONALLY ALLOCATING FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT
OF $506,044, FOR THE PROJECT CONTINGENCY; WITH FUNDS,
IN THE AMOUNT OF $751,079, FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT BY
URS CORPORATION-SOUTHERN; FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF
$107,333, FOR PROJECT CONCURRENCY FEES; AND FUNDS, IN
THE AMOUNT OF $103,440, FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT
PROJECTS OFFICE (CIP) MANAGEMENT, BEING AVAILABLE
FROM THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (RDA), TAX INCREMENT
1998 BONDS, SERIES B.
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt the Resolution to award a contract to The Tower Group for the construction of
the Miami Beach Regional Library. After further visits to the additional representative
projects submitted by all three of the lowest bidders, and after further evaluation of
the scope, content and quality of the additional projects visited, the City's consultant,
Robert A. M. Stern, City staff and the City's Program Manager, URS, have concluded
that the two lowest bidders, Regosa Engineering and SFCS, Inc. do not meet the
minimum Bid criteria of five years experience in projects of similar size and similar
type as the Regional Library. The above conclusion on the latest projects by Regosa
and SFCS is consistent with the evaluation of the projects previously submitted. The
additional projects included by The Tower Group in their latest list of representative
projects, which were not previously submitted, have been deemed by the project
team as meeting the above minimum criteria and thus the City is now recommending
award to The Tower Group as the lowest and best bidder.
FUNDING:
Funding, in the amount of $8,492,500, was previously appropriated and placed in
Fund 372.2181.069357 for the Capital Improvements to the Regional Library.
Additional funding is also available from a $300,000 Florida State Library Grant and
from Parking Bonds for the parking lots in the Project. This additional funding will be
appropriated at a later date. Funding for URS Project Management, for Concurrency
Commission Memorandum
Apri/10,2002
Regional Library
Page 2
fees and CIP Management are available from the Redevelopment Agency (RDA),
Tax Increment 1998 Bonds, Series B:
ANALYSIS:
On September 23, 1998, the Mayor and City Commission adopted Resolution No. 98-
22904, authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an Agreement with the firm of
Robert A. M. Stern Architects (Stern) for the architectural and engineering design of a
Regional Library, a 400-space Parking Garage, and Park and Streetscape
Improvements in the area surrounding Collins Park (the Project).
On November 18, 1998, the Mayor and City Commission directed the Administration
to design two surface lots in lieu of the Parking Garage.
On January 6, 1999, the Mayor and City Commission appropriated the funding
necessary to implement the Agreement with Stern and authorized an amendment
reflecting the change in scope by deleting the Parking Garage and adding surface
lots.
In December 2000, Stern delivered the completed documents to the City's Building
Department for review and approval for permit. The process was completed in
November 2001 and all approvals were obtained except for the last signature needed
from the State Department of Environmental Regulation. This signature has now
been obtained and the Project is ready to be permitted.
In order to advertise the Project for bid, it was necessary to pay the corresponding
concurrency mitigation fees related to the site demands and the available capacity of
the City's infrastructure. On September 12, 2001, fees in the amount of $107,333,
were transferred from the Regional Library work order to the City's concurrency
account. These fees were not previously budgeted and consequently reduced the
available construction budget for the Project. The Administration is now seeking
funds to account for the concurrency fees.
On May 30, 2001, the Mayor and City Commission approved a Stipulated Order of
Taking and Final Judgment, entered by the Court, to acquire the Ablon Parcel. This
property would provide the last piece needed for the construction of the Regional
Library. On June 6, 2001, the Miami Beach Redevelopment Agency Board (RDA)
appropriated funds and the required deposit for the property was delivered to the
Court. Once the deposit was registered, the City obtained title to the Ablon property.
Commission Memorandum
April 10, 2002
Regional Library
Page 3
On November 2,2001, the construction phase of the Project was advertised forbid. A
pre-bid conference was held on November 7, 2001. Six bids were received on
December 19, 2001. The Collins Park Cultural Center Oversight Committee, in its
advisory capacity, assigned a sub-committee to review the bids. This sub-committee
was composed of three citizen volunteers: Mike Hammon, Alan Shulman and Philip
Morris; Donald Chauncey from the Miami-Dade Library System; Jim Borrelli,
representing Stern; Juan Poleo, representing the Project Program Manager, URS;
and Jorge E. Chartrand, Senior Capital Projects Coordinator.
The sub-committee reviewed the following three lowest bids, which were within the
budget constraints of the Project:
1.) Regosa Engineering
2.) S.F.C.S. Inc.
3.) The Tower Group
$6,895,993.51
$6,999,997.00
$7,195,069.00
The evaluation consisted in part of checking on the submitted schedule of values and
comparing it against the Project estimates.
The RFP provides in part as a condition for qualification previous experience in
construction of a library or a similar facility. The project managers for the bidders; the
bidders' references; and previous experience with other projects were also reviewed.
None of the bidders presented direct experience of construction of a library or similar
facility in their written submittals. Whereby, the sub-committee set the experience
issue aside and did not consider bidders' experience in constructing a library or
similar facility in its final recommendation. The bidders' financial capabilities and
previous project records were also reviewed and checked.
Based on the above review, and the reference and financial reviews performed by the
City's Procurement Division, the sub-committee recommended that the Project be
awarded to the firm of Regosa Engineering, Inc. (Regosa), for the amount of
$6,895,993.51, as the lowest and best bidder. The recommendation was accepted
by the City Manager and an agenda item was placed on the January 30, 2002 City
Commission Meeting Agenda for approval and award.
On January 28, 2002, pursuant to City Ordinance No. 2002-3344, (the City's Bid
Protest Ordinance), the City's Procurement Division notified all the bidders ofthe City
Manager's recommendation, and advised all six bidders in writing, of their right to
protest the proposed award.
Commission Memorandum
April 10, 2002
Regional Library
Page 4
On January 29, 2002, the 3rd lowest bidder, The Tower Group, filed a bid protest,
alleging that Regosa Engineering did not meet the minimum requirements ofthe Bid.
Specifically, The Tower Group alleged that Regosa did not comply with the
requirement that bidders have a minimum of 5 years experience in providing similar
typelsize scope of work as indicated in the Technical Specifications. As a result, the
City Manager withdrew the item, and by extension any recommendation, from the
City Commission Agenda prior to consideration by the Commission, and a
subsequent review was conducted by the Administration and the City Attorney's
Office.
The purposes of the review were to assess the legal issue of whether or not the
minimum experience requirement is material, and also to perform additional research
into the qualifications of each bidder relative to the minimum experience requirement.
On January 31, 2002, a telephone conference was held among Mr. Alex Lamis,
Partner in Stern Architects; Mr. Jaime Borrelli, President of Borrelli and Associates;
First Assistant City Attorney Raul Aguila; Assistant City Manager Robert Middaugh;
and Procurement Director Gus Lopez. Mr. Aguila stated to Mr. Lamis, the City
Manager's request to have a more detailed analysis of the three low bidders;
particularly given the issue raised by Tower in its bid protest, as submitted prior to the
item being withdrawn from the last City Commission meeting. To that end, Mr. Lamis
advised that site inspections would be warranted in order for Stern to determine and
evaluate whether each of the three low bidders had experience with similar sizeltype
of projects.
The City Manager agreed to reimburse Stern for additional labor costs ($3,000) and
travel expenses, to provide a detailed report, outlining the findings of the site
inspections, from a list of representative projects selected and provided by each of
the three low bidders, and the determination of the strengths and weaknesses, based
on Stern's observations and professional expertise. Each of the top three bidders
were then asked by the Procurement Division to submit two (2) examples of projects
that they believe demonstrated that they possessed the requisite experience.
On February 13, 2002, Alex Lamis of Stern, along with Michael Nardone of URS
Corporation and Jorge Chartrand of the CIP Office visited six (6) sites that were
submitted by each of the respective bidders as examples of projects that would best
exemplify similar sizeltype of project (two (2) each). The following summarizes the
results of said site visits:
Commission Memorandum
April 10, 2002
Regional Library
Page 5
ReQosa - Sites Visited
Miami Beach Marina 1 Monty's Restaurant
. Reviewed project was not consistent with the library design.
Lennox Villas (Townhouses and individual units)
. Reviewed project was not consistent with the library design.
SFCS - Sites Visited
City of Sunrise Utility Administrative Center
. Reviewed project was not consistent with the library design.
A second project for SFCS was not visited because the team was not able to contact
the person or persons, which would 'allow access to the facility within the Miami
International Airport grounds. In any event, the City's team concluded that an in-flight
kitchen facility for airlines use would not be representative or compatible with the
standards expected of a library building that includes high end finishes and materials.
Tower Group - Sites Visited
Northwest Miami Warehouse (400,000 sq. ft.)
. Reviewed project was not consistent with the library design.
Dole Flowers Offices and Flower Processing Facility
. Reviewed project was not consistent with the library design.
In conclusion, none of the facilities visited satisfied the criteria that the contractors
have a minimum of five years experience with both similar type and size of projects.
On February 14, 2002, Alex Lamis of Stern provided a written statement summarizing
Stern's position based on the previous day's site visits. The Administration felt the
initial response was not complete enough and requested Stern to address the
qualifications of the three low bidders, and provide a more detailed summary of his
recommendation.
On February 21,2002, Alex Lamis provided a second statement, which summarizes
Stern's evaluation and recommendation as follows:
"In summary, while any ofthe contractors may be able to do a good job
with the library, or may have other projects that we have not visited that
are a closer fit to the library type, based on the projects visited and the
materials thus far received, we cannot say with certainty that any of the
Commission Memorandum
April 10, 2002
Regional Library
Page 6
3 contractors satisfy the CMB's criteria that the contractor have a
minimum.of 5 years experience with similar typelsize of projects."
The "minimum experience requirement" was originally raised by the Collins Park
Cultural Center Oversight Committee, which recommended a minimum of 5 years of
library construction experience, because of the construction issues that previously
arose in the Bass Museum project, particularly with regard to the decisions and
working relationship between the project architects and the contractor. The
Administration agrees that this type of requirement is appropriate given the high
quality finishes and other architectural features requisite in a building designed by a
world class architectural firm such as Stern. Stern, in addressing this
recommendation, attempted to write the requirement in a manner that would provide
flexibility; i.e., the ability to include bidders that had built facilities essentially the same
as a high quality library but not a library (Performing Arts Center, Museum, Class A
office buildings, etc).
A key component for Stern was to have a bidder demonstrate experience
constructing facilities that contain the specific high quality finishes and architectural
features of the designed facility and experience constructing these finishes and
features in facilities of similar size. It should be noted that this is an experience-
based requirement and as such does not directly address the issue of ability.
The Administration met with the City Attorney's Office to address the issue of whether
the Mayor and City Commission has the discretion to waive the Minimum
Requirement at issue; that is that the Prospective Bidder (General Contractor) must
have a minimum of five (5) years experience in providing similar typelsize scope of
work as indicated in the Technical Specifications (of the Bid). After conferring with
both the Project architects (Mr. Borrelli and Mr. Lamis on behalf of Stern), who
assisted in the preparation of the Bid specifications, and reviewing applicable case
law, the City Attorney's Office has opined that the aforestated Minimum Requirement
is a material term. The language contained therein ("[Bidders] ... must have a
minimum of five years experience..." [Emphasis supplied]) is mandatory. While a
governmental body can waive immaterial variances (generally defined as those which
provide no economic advantage to the noncomplying bidder, and do not affect the bid
absent fraud or misconduct), a material variance is one that gives a bidder a
substantial advantage over the other bidders and restricts or stifles competition. A
material variance cannot be waived without incurring a potential legal challenge from
an unsuccessful bidder.
Upon careful consideration of the above information and site visits, the Administration
recommended rejection of all Bids at the March 20, 2002 City Commission Meeting.
On March 19, 2002, the Tower Group, the third lowest bidder, filed a protest to the
Commission Memorandum
April 10, 2002
Regional Library
Page 7
rejection of all Bids contending that they (The Tower Group) met the minimum
experience requirement to construct the project. The Administration resolved this
protest opining that the information and references available for review, at that time,
did not clearly demonstrate that any of the bidders evaluated met the minimum
qualification requirement.
After discussion at the March 20, 2002 City Commission meeting, in which bidders
expressed project experience that was not provided as part of their submissions
pursuant to the bid process, the Administration agreed to reconsider the
recommendation and evaluate three additional reference projects from each of the
three lowest bidders in an effort to ensure fair treatment and evaluation of all
responsive bidders within the budget, and to minimize potential delays and expense
involved in a re-bid. The three lowest bidders, Regosa Engineering, SFCS and The
Tower Group provided additional reference projects at the Administration's request
for similar projects. The request emphasized that 3 similar sizeltype facilities to the
Library (a 44,000 square foot building with high end finishes and a construction
budget of approximately $7.1 million) were requested to complete the evaluation.
The reference projects submitted were as follows:
Regosa Engineering -
Miami Beach Police Station Lobby Renovations
Flamingo Park Pool, Miami Beach
Locust Hotel Renovations, Ocean Drive
SFCS -
Terminal 21 Building, Port Everglades
Parking Garage, Fort Lauderdale
Sunrise Utilities Administration Building, Sunrise FI
The Tower Group -
Doral Executive Office Building
Suntrust Bank, Key Biscayne
Decor House, Furniture Showroom, Miami
On April 2, 2002, Alex Lamis of Stern, along with Todd Osborn of URS Corporation,
Tim Hemstreet and Jorge Chartrand of the CIP Office visited the nine (9) sites noted
above that were submitted by the respective bidders as examples of projects that
would best exemplify similar sizeltype of project (three (3) each). The following
summarizes the results of said site visits:
Regosa Engineering - The three additional site visits combined with the previously
visited sites, do not demonstrate 5 years' experience providinQ similar size/tvpe
proiects. Regosa did not indicate construction costs for the additional projects. The
Miami Beach Police Station Lobby Renovations project was a small renovation
Commission Memorandum
April 10, 2002
Regional Library
Page 8
project similar in neither size nor type. Although the Flamingo Park Pool project
demonstrates a "similar" type project due to finishes and specialized systems, it does
not represent similar size and is not yet completed. The Locust Hotel Renovation
was a complex project, but does not represent similar type due to the fact that the
finishes are not "high-end", and while this project is similar in square footage, it does
not appear to be of similar cost.
SFCS - The three sites visited combined with the previously visited sites do not
demonstrate 5 years experience providinQ similar size/type proiects. The combined
evaluations demonstrate that although the bidder has experience with one (1) project
of similar size (both cost and square footage), Terminal 21 at Port Everglades, and
one (1) project of similar type (concentration of standard finishes), Sunrise Utilities
Administration Building, there is not a sufficient number of compliant projects to
indicate five (5) years of experience.
The Tower Group - The additional sites visited combined with the previously visited
sites, demonstrate that the bidder meets the minimum reauirement of 5 years
experience providinQ similar size/type proiects. The combined evaluations
demonstrate experience providing both similar size projects (both cost and square
footage), several projects exceed $5 million in value, as well as similar type
(concentration of standard finishes), Sun Trust Bank, and equivalent finishes
(concentration of high-end/special finishes), Decor House and Royal Palm Doral
Center III.
Based on the above, and in this specific situation, the two lowest bidders have not
demonstrated compliance with the minimum experience requirement. The third
lowest bidder, The Tower Group, has demonstrated compliance based on the latest
submission of projects, which also have been built over the last five years. As noted
above, the three projects submitted by The Tower Group in their March 22, 2002
submission were not previously reviewed by the City. Previous projects reviewed by
the City demonstrated compliance with similar size projects over a five year period,
but not similar type of projects. Finally, the projects submitted by The Tower Group in
the most recent submission include two projects that demonstrate finishes equivalent
to those found in the proposed Regional Library.
Under the City's bid process, in order for a bidder to be deemed responsive, its bid
must conform in all material respects to the requirements in the Bid. Pursuant to the
requirements of its contract with the City, Stern is the appropriate entity to determine
whether or not a prospective bidder has demonstrated compliance with the Technical
Specifications that they (Stern) have developed. In this unique situation, the City
must consider the "minimum experience" requirement as material, and should
strongly consider the recommendation of the architect of record that developed the
Commission Memorandum
April 10, 2002
Regional Library
Page 9
bid requirements and specifications.
Based on the materials submitted by the three low bidders, Stern has determined that
the submitted materials do not demonstrate compliance with the Minimum
Requirement by Regosa Engineering and SFCS. Stern has determined that Tower's
projects do demonstrate compliance with the Minimum Requirement. The City
Attorney's Office has opined that this is a mandatory requirement in the bid, and - as
such - must be considered material. To waive same as to any of the three low
bidders, would constitute a material variance and therefore subject the City to a
possible legal challenge.
Because the submission of the two lowest bidders do not clearly demonstrate the
specific experience required by the Minimum Requirement, and the third lowest
bidder does meet the minimum requirement; the Administration is recommending
award of a contract for construction to the firm of The Tower Group in the amount of
$7,195,069.00 pursuant to Invitation to Bid 02-01/02. (contract award)
The Tower Group is ranked as one of Florida's largest General Contractors, based on
total revenue in 2001, which totaled $169 million. The Tower Group was established
In Florida in 1995 and currently has 78 employees. The company has built projects
ranging in size from $2.1 million to $28 million in size. Based on the latest example
projects, the company has also built multiple projects that contain similar finishes and
work quality to the Regional Library.
The background, credit, and reference checks performed by the Procurement
Division and CIP Office staff all came back positive and favorable.
The Administration is also requesting allocation of a contingency, appropriation
separate from the contract award in the amount of $506,044, to address any future
eventualities, which might arise during the construction period. This contingency fund
will be used as needed for changes in the work, unforeseen conditions, etc. A
previous appropriation of $8,492,500 will be used for the construction award and the
contingency, and the remaining funds, in the amount of $791,387, will be used for
FF&E costs on the Project.
Pursuant to Requests for Qualifications No. 111-99/00, on June 27, 2001, the Mayor
and City Commission, adopted Resolution No. 2001-24499, approving execution of
an Agreement with the firm of URS Corporation-Southern (URS), for management
services on various City projects. The Regional Library at the Collins Park Cultural
Center is one of the projects in the Agreement, and fees, in the amount of $751,079,
were approved for the Project and Construction Management services by URS.
Funds should now be appropriated to address these fees. In addition, the CIP office
Commission Memorandum
April 10, 2002
Regional Library
Page 10
will continue to provide management and coordinating services on all City projects
such as the Regional Library. Funds, in the amount of $103,440, are needed for the
CIP management charges for the duration of the Project.
Funds for the Project and Construction Management services by URS Corporation-
Southern, for the Concurrency fees, and for management and coordinating services
by the Capital Improvement Projects Office, for the duration of the Project are
available from the Redevelopment Agency Tax Increment 1998 Bonds, Series B.
JMG: RCM:TH:JECh
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