PANAMA CITY — Renovations are finally around the corner for a local landmark heavily damaged more than five years ago by Category 5 Hurricane Michael.
In a meeting on Tuesday, Panama City commissioners approved an ordinance to award Burke Construction Group with a more than $32.985 million contract for the Martin Theater complex renovation project. The company is headquartered in Doral, but it also has offices in Sarasota and Panama City.
The ordinance passed 4-1, with Mayor Michael Rohan casting the lone opposing vote.
According to information from the meeting, Burke Construction was the only company to submit a bid during a request for proposal (RFP) related to the project done by the city earlier this year. The RFP originally was slated to last 60 days, but it was later extended by 15 days to help encourage other bids.
"I think it's important to note that we only got one bid," Rohan said. "In construction, I'm always leery of that."
The meeting's agenda notes that Burke Construction's bid was for $35 million, which was about $5 million more than project estimates. City staff worked with officials from both Burke and DAG Architects to reduce the bid to approximately $32.985 million.
About $30.746 million in funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be used to help pay for the project. The remaining balance will be covered by the city.
Along with restoring the theatre in the long-lasting wake of Hurricane Michael, which struck the Panhandle in October 2018, the project aims to increase its number of seats from 470 to 488.
During the meeting, Commissioner Josh Street suggested the city table the project and open another RFP in hopes of attracting more bids. That way, officials could better know if they are getting the best deal possible.
For Street, the fact that Burke's initial bid was about $5 million higher than previous estimates shows there might be room to save more money if the city was able to go with another company.
"I think it's a fantastic project," he said. "We need (the theater) back in the community, and I don't want to delay it any further than we have to, but I think it's a good due diligence process for another 60 days to put it out there and see if there aren't other bidders to come to the table."
Commissioner Brian Grainger, as well as commissioners Jenna Haligas and Janice Lucas, did not believe that was best for Panama City. Grainger said he worries opening another RFP after the original one already was extended, and the city worked with DAG and Burke to reduce the bid, would set a bad example moving forward.
Lucas added that going back out for bid might also create an unfair advantage for other companies.
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After hearing these opinions, Street ultimately agreed to move forward with the project and award the contract to Burke Construction.
"We already have a problem communicating with the citizens and the businesses," Grainger said. "If we go back out to bid for not just this one, but for any bid like this where we've already sat down with the contractor and we've gone through all of this with them, even extended (the RFP) to allow other people to have a bite of that apple, I think we are showing that we are not committed."
"One of the reasons for this process is for it to be objective," Lucas said. "Now everything is out in the public — exactly how much the bid was. New bidders have an unfair advantage at this point."
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City commissioners award $32.985 million contract for Martin Theatre project
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