Year: 2024

ANNA MARIA – For the fourth time, commissioners will soon be asked to accept or reject a Reimagining Pine Avenue bid proposal submitted by the C-Squared construction company.

On March 25, City Clerk LeAnne Addy opened the only bid received in response to the city’s fourth request for proposals (RFP) since 2022. Despite being previously rejected three times, Sarasota-based C-Squared CGC Inc. again submitted the only bid.

The RFP sought proposals to construct a one-block Reimagin­ing Pine Avenue prototype between Gulf Drive and North Shore Drive. The proposed prototype area would include the same safety improvements desired along the entirety of Pine Avenue – brick paver sidewalks along both sides of the street, new crosswalks and new streetlights.

The sidewalks and crosswalks are to be funded using a $1.28 million state appropriation that the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved in 2022. An additional $1.4 million state appropriation was approved in 2023 to expand the project to include similar safety improve­ments along Spring and Magnolia avenues, although no formal plans for those two additional streets have been presented.

While seated in the commis­sion chambers, Addy opened C-Squared’s sealed bid with only a C-Squared representative and The Sun present. In accordance with previously-established city protocol, only the name of the bidder was made public. No additional details, including the proposed price, were made public. The bid details will be made public when C-Squared’s proposal is presented for city commission discussion and consideration. The agenda for the commission’s April 11 meeting includes a Pine Avenue RFP update but it doesn’t indicate whether any formal commission decision-making is expected.

If the commission ulti­mately rejects C-Squared’s latest proposal, the city could issue a fifth RFP, this time seeking bids for all of Pine Avenue or the entire expanded three-street project. In February, Commissioner Mark Short noted the city has until the end of the calendar year to spend the appropriation funds approved in 2022. Although unlikely, the mayor and commission could abandon the project and forego the state funds if a contractor can’t be secured.

C-Squared hasn’t done any previous projects for the city of Anna Maria, but the company has completed city projects in Bradenton Beach and in Holmes Beach. Several years ago, C-Squared replaced the failing brick paver crosswalks on Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach that were installed by another company.

C-Squared completed the city center project for the city of Holmes Beach in 2023. The company is currently named as a co-defendant in a civil lawsuit pertaining to the 2023 death of pedestrian Miriam Trotter, who was struck by a vehicle driven by Michael Ritchie in a C-Squared work zone and traffic manage­ment area associated with the city center project.

The lawsuit alleges C-Squared and Ritchie share re­sponsibility for the fatal accident and alleges C-Squared failed to maintain a safe work zone. According to court documents, Ritchie denies responsibility for the accident and faults C-Squared for not maintaining a safe work zone; and C-Squared denies responsibility for the actions of Ritchie and Trotter.

PAST PROPOSALS

None of the four Reimagining Pine Avenue RFPs produced bid proposals from any firm other than C-Squared.

The initial feasibility study and planning process began in mid-2021 with contracted project engineer Gerry Traverso leading those efforts.

During a series of public meetings, several ideas and concepts were proposed, discussed and in some cases rejected. The rejected ideas included transforming Pine Avenue into a one-way street, with Spring or Magnolia also serving as a one-way street. The commission also rejected installing a roundabout/delivery truck turnaround area at the end of Pine Avenue, near the City Pier.

The commission discussed potentially eliminating approximately 50 parallel parking spaces along Pine Avenue to create space for bike paths and/or multi-use paths. Some past and present commissioners expressed support for doing so, but eliminating those parking spaces has never garnered the majority support of the city commission.

In February 2022, the commission approved Traverso’s conceptual plans for the sidewalks and crosswalks.

The following month, the commis­sion authorized the issuance of the first Reimagining Pine Avenue RFP for the installation of new sidewalks, crosswalks and streetlights along Pine Avenue. That RFP produced a single C-Squared bid for approximately $2 million, with a significant portion of the proposed costs associated with streetlighting.

In May 2022, the commission voted 4-0 in favor of rejecting C-Squared’s first bid and issuing separate RFPS for the sidewalks and the streetlight­ing, with the city self-installing the crosswalks. In response to a second RFP later issued for the Pine Avenue sidewalks, C-Squared bid $1.09 million to install brick paver sidewalks or $1.22 million to install rubberized Flexi-Pave sidewalks.

In July 2022, the commission authorized Murphy to engage in further fact-finding discussions with C-Squared regarding their second proposal, and that month Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the city’s $1.28 state appropriation request.

In August 2022, Murphy received a letter from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) informing him that FDOT would oversee the expenditure of state funds and the Reimagining Pine Avenue plans and RFPs required FDOT review and approval. That led to the second C-Squared proposal being rejected, even though Murphy said it was a good proposal.

It was later learned that using state funds to install new streetlights would subject the city to FDOT’s less aesthetically pleasing lighting standards. The commission agreed to instead use leftover federal American Rescue Plan funds to pay for the streetlights.

In March 2023, the city issued a third RFP, again for the Pine Avenue sidewalks and again producing a single bid from C-Squared. When Murphy initially reviewed that bid with the commission the following month, he said it was approximately $418,000 higher than the previous bid.

Murphy said the increase could be partially attributed to the RFP requesting crushed granite, rather than crushed concrete, be used as fill material for the drainage trenches below the new sidewalks. Murphy noted labor costs also increased since the previous bid was received.

Later that month, the commis­sion voted 4-1 in favor of rejecting C-Squared’s third proposal. Commis­sioner Jon Crane opposed rejecting the bid because he didn’t feel the city would get a better proposal.

In November, Murphy proposed the one-block Reimagining Pine Avenue prototype. In February, Murphy told the commission Traverso estimated the one-block prototype might cost $425,000 to $450,000. Murphy said the prototype area would serve as a test area that would provide additional insights as to what unexpected challenges and obstacles might be encountered along the rest of Pine Avenue. Murphy acknowledged that he wasn’t sure the smaller-scale prototype project would attract any or many bidders.

In late February, the city issued the fourth RFP that produced the latest bid from C-Squared, which brings the city to its current juncture with the long-delayed project.