Reckless spending

No-bid contracts

How does the Town of Melbourne Beach decide how to do a project such as build a boardwalk or repave a road? In general, the first thing the Town needs to do is to decide whether the Town employees can do the project or hire a contractor. If the Town decides to hire a contractor, then there are contracting policies and procedures that must be followed. If the expected project cost is below the $4,000 threshold or if the need is immediate (e.g., repair a failed air conditioning system), then the Town can select and hire a contractor without soliciting multiple bids. If the expected project cost exceeds the $4,000 threshold or is not an immediate need, then the Town must follow a more rigorous project definition and bid solicitation process that requires the Town make a good faith effort to obtain bids from multiple qualified contractors. The Town is required to accept the lowest qualified bid. A contract solicitation only sent to a single contractor is technically a sole-source contract but is often colloquially referred to as a “no-bid contract,” despite there being a bid submitted by the sole-source contractor.

For the last several years the Town has on several occasions circumvented the requirement to solicit bids from multiple contractors for contracts that exceed the $4,000 threshold or are deemed immediately needed and have, instead, awarded sole-source contracts. One example is the $180,000 cost to repave Redwood Drive and its intersection with Cherry Drive. The Town claimed the issue on Redwood Drive and its intersection with Cherry Drive was an emergency as the road needed to be repaved after the drainage swale and curbing work was completed. However, the Town created the emergency by not including the repaving in the original drainage swale and curbing contract! What is equally unacceptable is that no one was held accountable for the inappropriate initial contract.  

Rework of failed projects

A classic example of a failed project is when the Town erected fence posts and snow fences on the dunes at all the street-end beach accesses without getting permits or permission from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as is required for any construction east of the Coastal Construction and Control Line (CCCL), not to mention the threat they posed to nesting sea turtles.

The Town wanted the snow fences to prevent people from walking on dunes near the accesses, which wasn't a particularly big problem. So they erected two shoulder-high snow fences, one on each side of path leading from bottom step of beach access across the dune out onto the sand. It’s likely they collected zero input from residents. It looked horrible, was a threat to nesting/hatching sea turtles, impeded beach access by first responders, and violated CCCL rules.

A concerned citizen reported this foolish project to DEP and to UCFs sea turtle group. The DEP made the Town take down the snow fencing, but since the posts were already in place and it would have been even more destructive to remove them, the DEP let the Town put up rope between the posts. So the cost of the snow fence material, plus the labor cost to install it, and then remove it, was a complete waste for the Town.

Pet projects

An example of a pet project was when the commissioners proposed to change Loggerhead Park into a dog park complete with parking for golf carts. However, just before they were ready to approve it, a resident had to remind the commissioners that the property was deeded to the Town with a covenant to preserve it as a turtle sanctuary. As a result, the proposal could not proceed.