Staff Writer

Local contractors filled the St. Cloud City Council chambers Jan. 13 to air grievances against Turner Construction’s bidding process for the New Nolte Road project.

The contractors claimed the same construction plans may not have been given to every bidder and only the lowest bidder was contacted after bids were evaluated.

Council members were bombarded by contractors’ phone calls during the December break between meetings after the bids were awarded in November.

“The problem I have is how (the project) was managed,” Councilman Jarom Fertic said. “It’s hard to believe so many contractors are making up stories.”

Turner Construction is overseeing the construction of New Nolte Road, a 3.1-mile, four-lane divided roadway being built between Canoe Creek Road and Hickory Tree Road in St. Cloud.

“I don’t feel we were treated the way we were told we were going to be treated,” Randy Wright, of Wright’s Excavating, told the council. “I don’t think the effort was put in to help the local economy.”

Wright said he might have to lay off 40 employees because he was not awarded construction work on the project, which is worth $19.5 million. His company, located in St. Cloud, was previously commissioned to demolish, clear and grub the initial project.

Wright said that also it was customary for at least the three lowest bidders to be contacted regarding a bid “to make sure everything is evaluated correctly.”

“I don’t think all of the contractors were informed correctly,” Mark Miller, president of St. Cloud-based Alliance Excavating, said.

“When’s the last time you had 75 (to) 80 percent of your bidders saying something is not right here?” Wright asked. “I’ve never seen it.”

Turner Vice President Scott M. Skidelsky defended his company, stating the lower bidders were contacted, however, some contractors were 206 percent higher than the lowest bid.

“The individuals were scoped and the low bidders were scoped. It was a competitive process,” Skidelsky said. “If they were closer or possibly remotely close, we could have looked at it. These were huge numbers.”

The city contracted with Turner to be the construction manager at risk for the project last August in hopes of subcontracting the work out to local contractors to put residents back to work. Turner separated the roadwork into four segments to allow more contractors to bid the projects. The segments also allow the construction to be done concurrently.

According to the bid award report, dated Jan. 13, Junior Davis Construction Company, based in Kissimmee, was awarded nine of the 16 projects on New Nolte Road.

Junior Davis previously built Nolte Road from Kissimmee Park Road to Canoe Creek Road without a construction manager at risk. About 70 percent of its workforce lives in Osceola County.

Skidelsky said the company never said the four separated segments would be built by four different companies, however, council members plan to monitor the construction process more closely after the allegations.

“The pro-cess was to give the opportunity to local bidders,” Councilman Russell Holmes said. “If somebody can prove to me this was done under the table, I need the proof.”