$18 million contract awarded for south Siesta renourishment

Weeks Marine, Inc. won a contract, as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, to replenish approximately two miles of shoreline surrounding Turtle Beach for $18,101,737.50. That contract was approved at the Sarasota County Commission Dec. 9 meeting.

According to a memo from Sarasota County Administrator Tom Harmer’s office, the New Jersey company was the lone bidder among 3,747 vendors notified through BidSync and advertisements in the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

The invitation for bid was viewed by 109 vendors. Four vendors attended the pre bid meeting, but three of them declined to submit a bid for various reasons, including concerns over the project’s timeframe, which is aggressive after nine months of delays over wildlife that might be affected by the project.

The project will begin in January 2016 and be completed by May.