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High costs could delay drain work

City needs to figure out where the extra funds will come from.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published February 7, 2007

Pinellas Park leaders are scrambling to figure out how to pay for the next round of drainage repairs along Park Boulevard after contractor bids came in far above estimates.

The lowest bid was $12.9-million, 73 percent higher than the city expected. In fact, that amount surpasses what the city expected to pay for all three phases of work.

Three other bids for the second round of work were even higher, hovering around $14.7-million.

It's unlikely the high cost will stall the project, but it's possible that some parts of it could be delayed or that money earmarked for other needs will be redirected, city spokesman Tim Caddell said Tuesday.

Caddell attributed the miscalculation to the rising cost of concrete, steel and other construction materials.

"It's been happening for awhile," he said. "It's amazing how fast prices are going up."

City leaders plan to meet next week to discuss possible solutions, he said.

Flooding along Park has long been an issue for the city. Even light rains have been known to flood portions of the roadway, and some businesses along the street put out sandbags to keep the splash from waves coming into their buildings.

After years of negotiating, Pinellas Park finally persuaded county and state officials in 2000 to help pay for repairs.

The state has an interest because Park is a state roadway. The county cares because Park is one of the main hurricane evacuation routes.

When the deal was struck in 2000, Pinellas Park said the work would cost about $11.8-million and be done in three phases:

-The first, which was recently completed for about $5.3-million, fixed the area at 49th Street N and Park, west to the railroad tracks. It was originally budgeted for about $3-million.

-The second phase will include the portion of the road west from the railroad tracks to 66th Street N. This is the phase the city is currently working on. Originally budgeted for $3.6-million, the city revised that last year to be about $7.4-million. Pinellas Park-based Rowland Inc. submitted the lowest bid of $12.9-million.

-The third phase includes the area east of 49th and west of U.S. 19 N. This will be the most expensive phase and was originally planned to cost about $5.2-million, but likely will be higher when the city re-examines that figure before putting it out for bids.

The high price tag comes at a bad time for Pinellas Park.

With the Florida Legislature looking at increasing the property tax exemption or placing other limitations on city spending, Pinellas Park, like other municipalities, is expecting a lean budget year in 2007-08.

[Last modified February 6, 2007, 21:24:52]