Okaloosa County BOCC — July 21, 2015 — Recommendation Letter — reading text

July 8, 2015 Jim Trifilio Coastal Management Coordinator Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council 1540 Miracle Strip Parkway SE Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 Re: Okaloosa County RFB No. TDD 47-15, Okaloosa County Artificial Reef Construction Project Dear Mr. Trifilio, On June 10, 2015, Okaloosa County opened bid packages for the Okaloosa County Artificial Reef Construction Project. A total of three competitive bids were received. Coleen Marine, Inc. (Coleen), based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, was the apparent low bidder. Per Taylor Engineering’s Scope of Services for the above-referenced project, we have reviewed Coleen’s bid package. Of note, our review and recommendations are limited to engineering and technical issues. Taylor Engineering is not responsible for the review and evaluation of contractor’s financial condition, business licenses or authorizations, bonding, contractual requirements, and any other non-engineering or non-technical information. Two Coleen representatives attended the recommended pre-bid meeting and site visit held on May 18, 2015 and the bid package includes the required submittals (Bid Form, Addenda Acknowledgement, Bid Bond or Check, Equipment List, Deployment Plan, Schedule and Description of Previous Artificial Reef Experience) and forms (Drug-Free Workplace, Conflict of Interest, Federal E-Verify Certification, No Contact Clause, Indemnification and Hold Harmless, Company Data, Anti-Collusion Statement, Certification Regarding Lobbying, and Eglin Access Affidavits). Coleen also provided proof of authorization to transact business in the State of Florida within their RFB response package. Our review also included the following information: 1. Qualifications and past work experience in the field of artificial reef construction. Taylor Engineering Review: Coleen has been in business since May, 2014; however, their targeted key personnel have vast artificial reef building and deployment experience, including 20,000 tons of repurposed concrete materials in the mid-Atlantic and the deployment of dozens of vessels. The company is currently the Artificial Reef Contractor for the State of Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife and have completed two repurposed concrete reef deployments totaling 5,145 tons in the past year. Similarly, Coleen has completed two deployments for Virginia Marine Resources in the past 6 months totaling approximately 3,850 tons of repurposed concrete (e.g., concrete pipe, culverts, and junction boxes). Coleen also completed the sinking of the Shirley Brown for Alabama Gulf Coast Reef and Restoration Foundation on June 2, 2015 off Orange Beach, Alabama. Most recently, Taylor County, FL has awarded a contract to deploy 224 reef cubes in the Gulf of Mexico – also a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) sponsored project. 1221 AIRPORT ROAD, SUITE 210 DESTIN, FL 32541 TEL 850.460.7040 WWW.TAYLORENGINEERING.COM WWW.TAYLORENGINEERING.COM Jim Trifilio July 8, 2015 Page 2 of 3 2. Project work plan and schedule. Taylor Engineering Review: The work plan provided by Coleen details numerous, large deck barges (140 – 260 ft in length), loaders, cranes, excavators, and hauling equipment. Coleen has indicated their understanding and approach to the project from their attendance at the pre-bid meeting and site visits, as well as through the submitted deployment plan. Taylor Engineering contacted Mr. Tim Mullane, Coleen’s Vice President of Operations, on June 22 and 23, 2015 to verify the proposed equipment resources discuss details of the deployment plan. Coleen anticipates commencing the required coordination and submittal preparation immediately following authorization and anticipates to commence material hauling and deployment within 30 days of contract authorization (August 2015). From the anticipated schedule of 6 – 9 weeks in the deployment plan, the project may extend beyond Okaloosa County’s anticipated completion date of October 1, 2015; however, the project schedule indicates construction completion well before December 31, 2015 as required by the FWC grant. The deployment plan and schedule were verified by Mr. Tim Mullane on June 22 and 23, 2015. Mr. Mullane indicated Coleen expects to complete the actual deployment within 30 days and Coleen provided the additional time to account for the required coordination with Eglin Air Force Base. 3. Past project performance for artificial reef construction projects. Taylor Engineering Review: Coleen has completed numerous artificial reef construction and deployment projects for private groups such as the Alabama Gulf Coast Reef and Restoration Foundation, Inc., State agencies within Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Delaware, and local-government agencies such as Taylor County, Florida. As previously mentioned, the Taylor County project (similar to the current Okaloosa project) is grant funded through FWC. We contacted FWC’s Artificial Reef Program Environmental Administrator (Mr. Jon Dodrill) and asked him to comment on the overall quality of work, scheduling, conflicts/problem resolution, and potential for future work. While Taylor County selected Coleen to perform the FWC-funded project, Mr. Dodrill’s work experience with Coleen is quite limited, as work had not yet commenced. However, Mr. Dodrill did indicate he has worked with Coleen’s Vice President of Operations (Tim Mullane) since 2002 and gave overall positive comments on his previous experiences. We also contacted Jeff Tinsman (Delaware’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Artificial Reef Coordinator) and Joe Grist (Virginia’s Marine Resources and Fisheries Management Deputy Chief). We asked the project managers to comment on the overall quality of the work, scheduling, conflicts/problem resolution, and potential for future work. Both individuals provided very positive comments and gave high recommendations for utilizing Coleen’s services for future artificial reef work. Jim Trifilio July 8, 2015 Page 3 of 3 Based on the information submitted within their RFB response package and the information above, we recommend Okaloosa County enter into a contract agreement with Coleen Marine, Inc. for construction of the Okaloosa County Artificial Reef Project. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at (850) 460-7040 or mtrammell@taylorengineering.com. Sincerely, Matthew A. Trammell, P.E. Senior Engineer, Coastal