This item on the January 2, 2014 city council agenda doesn’t look good to me.
The item is for the re-re-re-re-construction of our San Jacinto Plaza of perpetual remodeling.
The city got three bids that they posted in their backup documentation.
- F. T. James $7,555,444
- Venegas Engineering Management. $7,012.468
- Basic IDIQ $4,484,488
How can that be?
Firstly why did we only three bidders respond? Construction work is not plentiful in El Paso.
Then how can the wild price discrepancy be explained?
Simple really
The price difference may turn out to the the simplest part to explain. According to the backup material:
“Work under this unit price contract is only an estimated value and will be ordered, performed, invoiced and paid by measured quantity. The actual cost of this contract may be higher or lower than the total estimated value and will be the sum total of unit prices at the end of the contract term.”
If it turns out that if you are the city’s go to contractor (the city has been used this firm to rebuild the various buildings it needed to replace city hall — without bidding) you might know more than what is written in the bid specifications. I don’t know this as a fact but am hard pressed to explain the price difference any other way.
Then again maybe the final bill will come in closer the the other bids.
What kind of council
What kind of city council would approve a construction contract without a maximum price. I hope that ours does not.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
You deserve the truth, El Paso.
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On observing the progress of some of the city’s projects, I have concluded that there is no firm timeline for finishing the projects. Many projects (and I am a downtown person so I can watch daily) go for days, even weeks, with no workers whatsoever. Contractors can work two or three projects at the same time without increasing the size of their staff. This may lead to a less expensive cost for the city but it increases the cost of doing business downtown. The plaza will still be in complete disarray when the ballpark opens — as will other downtown projects. This is not the way to show off downtown to those who make the trip to the ballpark, perhaps their first trip downtown in years.
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In case you missed the local TV news last night, it’s safe to say that the ballpark will not open on schedule. City management is now conceding that the first “home” games will likely be played in Tucson, which makes no sense when you have Cohen sitting here. It is highly probable that much if not all of the entire 2014 season will be played in Tucson.
Bill Studer, who we are now paying to be the project manager, is now using the phrase “substantially complete” which means they are also anticipating that if they do open the new ballpark in 2014, it will not truly be complete. His TV interview last night was filled with evasive answers and spin.
Delays in completion have significant cost implications. A longer completion time means higher construction costs. Penalties must be paid to Mountainstar because of our city management geniuses signed a contract that committed us to an unrealistic timetable. It also means that there will be less ballpark income or no income to service the bond debt this year.
The steel framing has not even been completed and city management is still trying to lead the public to believe that the ballpark will open in April. They wonder why they have zero credibility?
Meanwhile Courtney Niland, who was at the center of the ballpark fiasco, has started a crusade to privatize trash pick-up. She must need a new source of campaign contributions.
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You asked “What kind of city council would approve a construction contract without a maximum price?”
The same kind of city council that, before doing its due diligence, pushed through a ballpark that cost tens of millions of dollars and was later told by the city manager that we will not know the total cost until after it is built.
But it’s all good. Right?
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