Nine firms bid on justice center project

Nine contractors submitted proposals to be the city of Blytheville’s construction manager for its new justice center.

Tuesday morning, city leaders unsealed those firms’ statements of qualifications to oversee the expected $2.4 million project.

However, they did not open the contractors’ fee proposals and will not until later in the process to comply with USDA loan rules, according to architect Todd Welch of Brackett-Krennerich & Associates, which designed plans for the renovation of the former armory into the future justice center.

“They are going to have a fee proposal in here, but we’re not going to open those yet,” Welch said. “The USDA doesn’t want us to open those until we select a CM because we’re not supposed to select the CM based on the fee. We are supposed to select them based on qualifications.”

The bid packets deadline was Friday, and those bidding on the project included: Tate General Contractors of Jonesboro, Baldwin and Shell of Little Rock (it also has a Jonesboro office), Olympus Construction of Jonesboro, Harco of Little Rock, Nabholz of Jonesboro, F&F Construction of Memphis, CNI of Jonesboro, Bailey Contractors of Jonesboro and SouthBuild of Collierville, Tenn.

Blytheville Mayor James Sanders said with Welch at the table, the Police and Fire Committee will review the nine proposals and whittle the list to four. Those four will be interviewed by the Police and Fire Committee in the public meeting, and then one will be recommended to officially be hired by the City Council.

Mayor Sanders pointed out that USDA loan regulations require the use of a construction manager who will lead the project.

Welch briefly discussed each candidate with Mayor Sanders, Police Chief Ross Thompson, City Council President L.C. Hartsfield and Cody Wyatt of the Mayor’s Office, as each proposal was opened individually on Tuesday morning at City Hall.

His firm has worked with several of the applicants previously.

Welch said though it may seem to add to the expense of the justice center, a project manager could actually lower costs by eliminating potential expensive mistakes.

“I could make the argument that my fee is paid for by the ways I could potentially save you money,” Welch said, noting the same could be said for the construction manager.

The city will still let bids for the work, though a construction manager will ensure the job is done properly.

Welch said the goal is to start work this summer, and it typically takes 12 months to complete the project, meaning the Armory could be ready for the Blytheville Police Department to move into by the summer of 2019.