January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 50

OPERATIONS
Public Bid vs. Contract and Design-Build
By Mark Sheldon
D
espite being recognized as the primary method to reach the
standard of " best value for the public, " the public-bid process
does not always deliver best value. In fact, some would argue
that it seldom does. The processes and problems of developing
a public bid are many. The following is intended to review the highs and
lows of the public-bid process as compared to several of the new legal ways
to circumvent public bidding altogether.
Regardless of whether a project is
civil, architectural, structural, mechanical,
electrical or all the above,
the first step is going out to bid for
the professional services. This step
is often the most critical, as the budget
for the project is most often already
defined and those professional
services and the bid to award the
fully designed project to a contractor
must, together, come in within
the overall budget for the project.
The next problem is timelines. In
addition to a defined budget, most
public projects have firm timelines
that define when the overall project
must be completed. This is often a
very specific timeline, particularly
when the project is either fully or
partially funded by a grant.
The problem that most public
agencies run into relative to budget
and professional estimates for
both the cost and the timelines to
complete specialized structures like
restroom-shower buildings, splashpad
industrial control buildings,
swimming pool buildings, concession
buildings, and both large and
small pavilions is that they are wrong
and typically too low. The good news
is that there are several alternative
options to the public-bid process
available to all public entities.
Purchasing Cooperatives
A purchasing cooperative is an arrangement
in which multiple pubThe
design-build approach assures
that any structure being proposed
fits the existing theme, look, touch
and feel at the specific location or the
overall preference of the district.
lic agencies, nonprofits and businesses
form a collective unit to buy
supplies and services and streamline
the procurement process by
developing requests for proposals
(RFPs) and invitations for bids
(IFBs) for national, competitive solicitations
that meet or exceed local
competitive bid requirements.
This procurement method allows
public agencies to purchase products
and services directly from vendors
that would otherwise be procured
through the public-bid process.
Purchasing cooperatives offer several
advantages over the public-bid
process. First, cooperative purchasing
allows public agencies to receive
firm pricing for products and services
from vendors, which removes
assumptions and conjectures regarding
the overall project budget.
The scope of work can be clearly
defined at the time of the quote,
and the agency can be confident
that the quote reflects the vendor's
true scope of work as it has been
defined. Discounts are also typically
a standard feature of cooperative
purchasing, further adding to the
benefit of this purchasing method
in terms of cost to the public agency.
Secondly, by removing the need
for a public bid, project timelines
can be further accurately defined
and shortened. Cooperative purchasing
removes
the
need
for
lengthy
RFP processes because the
RFP process was completed at the
time that the vendor bid on the cooperative
purchasing contract for
their products. Therefore, cooperative
purchasing is more beneficial
for public agencies to meet strict
50 Parks & Recreation |
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PHOTO COURTESY OF ROMTEC, INC.
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation

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