Fire Station Design Moves Ahead Without Bids

A majority of the City Council agreed this week to get a fire station construction project "shovel-ready," in anticipation of President Obama's economic stimulus package.

The renovation and expansion of Fire Station No. 4 (pictured above) at 130th Street would be the first major firehouse project north of 15th Street in 30 years, Fire Chief Chris Larmore told the Mayor and Council. Firehouse expansion was put on hold in 2002, but became a "priority" in 2008. The goal is to build an additional ground-level bay for more firetrucks, and a second-floor dormitory-style living quarters for firefighters and paramedics.

The north end of Ocean City has grown in the past 30 years, Chief Larmore noted, but the firehouse infrastructure has not. Larmore and City Engineer Terry McGean asked the council to allocate $54,000 to pay Design Atlantic for Phase 1 and 2 design work on the project. Phase 1 will determine whether the best approach is to add on to the existing 130th Street structure, or to tear it down and start fresh.

City leaders had not expected to be able to start construction on Station No. 4 for several years. But many national politicians and business leaders want to target economic stimulus funds to "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects that can create jobs quickly to get the economy moving. The design work would make the fire station shovel-ready, if and when federal or state funds become available.

With the "shovel-ready" talk injecting a note of urgency, the council awarded the design contract to Design Atlantic on a 4-3 vote, with disagreement among council members over the need for competitive bidding.

To bid or not to bid has become a stumbling block on nearly every contracting decision as the Mayor and Council put town spending under a microscope.

Competitive bidding for large construction projects is a hallmark of good government. Put the job up for bids, and award the contract to the low bidder. It's the taxpayers' dollars, after all, and the taxpayers don't like wasting money.

But in practice -- in contracts ranging from Army mess halls in Iraq, to the Ocean City fireworks display -- competitive bidding is not always the best decision. In small and routine contracts, governments often skip competitive bidding for speed and efficiency.

Several Ocean City council members strongly support competitive bidding for almost every contract, and Fire Station No. 4 is a case in point.

Most everyone agrees that fire station expansion is needed. That was not the issue. Several council members pressed the city engineer to prepare a "request for proposals" on the design contract. They didn't accept the recommendation of the city engineer and fire chief that the contract should go to Design Atlantic based on the company's past work for the city, plus the firm's experience with firehouses.

Mr. McGean took a strong stand against competitive bidding in this instance. It has been Ocean City's policy not to request bids for architectural and engineering design services, he said. Design services are only five to seven percent of the total cost of a construction project. Accepting a low bid for design can result in problems during construction, he warned. Chief Larmore added, "$54,000 is really light for this project."

Council members Jim Hall, Joseph Hall, and Margaret Pillas were not persuaded, and voted against awarding the contract without bidding. If not for the urgency about getting "shovel-ready," one or two additional council members might have sided with them.

Step 1 is to evaluate the existing fire station and determine the best approach for construction. Step 2 is to take the design to the point where an accurate cost estimate can be made. The $54,000 will come from $12,000 left over from an earlier firehouse study, plus part of the $90,000 saved by finishing the Northside Park concession stand under budget.

Step 3 in design would be preparing bid documents for construction. Step 3 is expected to cost in the $40,000 to $80,000 range, depending on the results of Steps 1 and 2. "Given that the total cost of this project will likely be in the range of $2 million, the quoted design fees are reasonable," the city engineer said in a memo.