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City OKs Bid To Build Public Works Facility

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 7, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - The city has signed off on plans for a new public works facility.

Tuesday night, the city council voted to award the project to Bandes Construction, which submitted the lowest bid of several contracting companies to build the facility.

The bid of $4.7 million came in much lower than the project's original price estimates.

The new complex will include a 14,400-square-foot administration building and an adjacent 8,720-square-foot storage facility for city vehicles and equipment.

Plans for the facility, to be built on 14 acres of city property down the road from the 3-decade-old facility on Pine Hill Road, have been in the works for several years.

The existing 11,477-square-foot public works building, which opened in 1973, no longer is large enough for the staff and doesn't meet building codes for hurricanes, officials say.
City trucks and other heavy equipment are kept under metal sheds or out in the open.

The old building will be used for bulk storage after the new facility is built.

Because there are state-protected wetlands on the site, the city will be required to enter into a mitigation agreement with the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Money for the project, much of which is already budgeted, will come mostly from the Penny for Pasco initiative and the city's utility fund.

Construction is expected to begin in a couple of months and be completed within a year.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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