HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrder No. 20-015 - Savanah Road Animal Shelter (04-15-20)ORDER NO. 20-015
AN ORDER OF THE ST. LUCIE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
REGARDING REPAIRS TO SAVANNAH ROAD ANIMAL SHELTER
WHEREAS, the St. Lucie County Administrator has made the following determinations:
1. On March 17, 2020, the St. Lucie County Public Safety Director declared a State of
Local Emergency Covid-19 Public Health Emergency ("St. Lucie County Declaration of
Emergency"); and
2. The findings in the St. Lucie County Declaration of Emergency are incorporate(
herein and,
3. On March 16, 2020, President Donald J. Trump and the Centers for Disease Contrc
and Prevention ('CDC") issued the "15 Days to Slow the Spread" guidance advising individuals t(
adopt far-reaching social distancing measures, such as avoiding gatherings of more than 1(
people, and in states with evidence of community spread, recommending restrictions to certaii
establishments conducive to mass gatherings and congregations; and
4. On March 29, 2020, the President extended such guidance to be in effect until Apr
30, 2020; and
5. On March 24, 2020, the Governor of the State of Florida issued Executive Order Nc
20-83 directing the State Surgeon General and State Health Officer to issue a public healtl
advisory to all persons over 65 years of age and persons that have serious underlying media
conditions that place them at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 urging them to stay hom,
and to take such other measures as necessary to limit their risk of exposure to COVID-19; and
6. Pursuant to Executive Order No. 20-83, the Governor of the State of Florida further
directed the State Surgeon General and the State Health Officer to issue a public health advisory
providing that individuals should cease all social or recreational gatherings of 10 or more people;
and
7. On March 25, 2020, the State Surgeon General issued a Public Health Advisory
consistent with Executive Order 20-83; and
8. On March 25, 2020, the President of the United States declared that a major
disaster exists in the State of Florida as a result of COVID-19; and
9. On April 1, 2020, the Governor of the State of Florida issued Executive Order 20-
91 directing senior citizens, individuals with a significant underlying medical condition, and
persons engaging in nonessential services or activities to stay at home; and,
10. Due to Executive Order 20-91, the Board has cancelled all public meetings through
April 30, 2020. The next Board meeting is scheduled for May 19, 2020; and,
11. In the months prior to October 1, 2019, the County and the City of Fort Pierce ("Fort
Pierce") and the City of Port St. Lucie ("Port St. Lucie") had separate agreements with Humane
Society of St. Lucie County, Inc. to provider animal shelter services; and,
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12. Although the parties attempted to enter into a unified agreement with the Humane
Society to be effective October 1, 2019, those negotiations were unsuccessful and the existing
agreements expired effective October 1, 2019; and,
13. Effective October 1, 2019, the County entered into an Interlocal Agreement with
the City of Fort Pierce and the City of Port St. Lucie for the operation of a Temporary Animal
Shelter, ("Temporary Shelter Interlocal Agreement"); and,
14. Pursuant to the Temporary Shelter Interlocal Agreement, the County converted the
vacant County owned building located 2700 Industrial Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida, into a
Temporary Animal Shelter to house and care for homeless dogs and cats coming into the custody
of the Cities and the County through owner surrender or animals taken into custody as strays or
as neglect and/or abuse cases; and,
15. Although the County received a temporary Certificate of Occupancy for the
Temporary Animal Shelter due to the emergency need to provide animal shelter services to the
three entities, that temporary Certificate of Occupancy will expire on July 1, 2020; and,
16. On April 6, 2020, the Fort Pierce City Commission approved an Interlocal
Agreement with the County which provides for the parties to work together to repair the existing
Savannah Road Animal Shelter owned by Fort Pierce, select a third party to operate the shelter
on behalf of the two entities, and ultimately design and construct additional facilities on the site of
the Savannah Road Animal Shelter to expand the animal services provided to the community
("Savannah Road Shelter Interlocal Agreement"); and,
17. On April 7, 2020, the St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners approved
the Interlocal Agreement with Fort Pierce for the Savannah Road Animal Shelter; and,
18. Pursuant to the Savannah Road Shelter Interlocal Agreement, the parties will
share equally in the cost of the repair project up to the amount of $250,000.00 per party; and
19. Due to the temporary nature of the Certificate of Occupancy for the Temporary
Animal Shelter, it is necessary for the parties to expedite the commencement of the repairs to the
Savannah Road Animal Shelter in order to move from the Temporary Animal Shelter prior to July
1, 2020; and
20. While a large portion of the repairs to the Savannah Road Shelter will be
performed by the County and Fort Pierce staff, certain repairs will require the use of private
contractors; and,
21. The County has obtained three quotes from licensed contractors for the work to be
performed by private contractors and determined that several of those project tasks may exceed
$49,999.99 and would as a result require bid solicitation pursuant to the County's Purchasing
Manual; and,
22. The County's formal bidding procedure normally requires a minimum of thirty (30)
days from publication of the Call for Bids to the bid award by the Board of County Commissioners
and contract execution with the selected bidder; and,
23. As indicated above, adherence of the County's formal bidding procedure would
result in a minimum of at thirty (30) day delay in the commencement of the Savannah Road
Shelter repairs and likely push the completion date beyond the July 1, 2020 expiration of the
Temporary Certificate of Occupancy; and,
24. The use of the Temporary Animal Shelter was never intended to be permanent
and while meeting the current needs of the community use past July 2, 2020 may pose challenges
to the County staff operating the shelter due to increased external temperatures and rainfall
limiting the ability to exercise the dogs and keep the bay doors open for increased airflow; and,
25. The current estimated cost of the repairs to the Savannah Road Shelter for both
labor and materials based upon quotes solicited for work to be performed by private contractors
is approximately $385,435.00, or $192,717.50 for each party. Due to the age of the Shelter
buildings, it is anticipated that actual costs may exceed this amount; and,
26. Based upon quotations received from licensed contractors, the cost of at least one
of the repairs to be performed at the Savannah Road Shelter will exceed $50,000.00; and
27. Section 6 of the St. Lucie County Purchasing Manual requires all purchases of
$50,000.00 or more require formal sealed bids. The bid requirement may be waived by the Board
of County Commissioners if it determines an emergency exists which would result in a direct loss
to the County, imminent damage to public property, safety or health by requiring competitive bids
due to the time loss inherent in the bidding procedures, or there is an interruption of an essential
governmental service. In cases of emergency, the County Administrator may approve the bid
waiver and submit the waiver request to the Board at the next scheduled meeting or a special
meeting. If the Savannah Road Shelter repairs are delayed as a result of the formal bidding
procedures, it appears likely that the facility will not be able to accept animals prior to July 1, 2020.
This would result in a loss to the County if the Temporary Animal Shelter is closed and an
alternative location to shelter animals taken into custody must be obtained. In addition, closure
of the Temporary Animal Shelter without an alternative location will result in the disruption of an
essential governmental services.
28. Pursuant to Section 255.20, Florida Statutes, a county is required to formally bid a
public building construction project which will exceed $300,000 subject to certain exemptions and
annual adjustment of the threshold amount based upon changes the Engineering News-Record's
Building Cost Index from January 1, 2009 to January 1 of the year in which the project is
scheduled to begin; and,
29. Based upon the January 2020 Engineering News-Record's Building Cost Index,
the adjusted threshold for 2020 is $392,411.00 for construction and $98,103.00 for electrical; and,
30. Paragraph 4 of the St. Lucie County Declaration of Emergency provides that the
County Administrator may suspend, toll or extend the time requirements, notice requirements and
deadlines for final action on applications for permits, licenses, rates and other approvals under
the St. Lucie County Code.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:
1. The determinations, orders, and declarations identified above are incorporated herein.
2. The requirement for formal sealed bids for the Savannah Road Shelter repairs project
is hereby waived. Written quotes shall be required for all work not performed by
County or Fort Pierce employees.
3. The waiver of formal sealed bids due to the emergency conditions referenced above
shall be presented to the Board of County Commissioners for ratification at its May 19,
2010 meeting.
4. Effective Date; Duration. This order shall be effective as of np (a ) (pm) on
April 2020. This order shall expire upon the expiration of the existing State
of Local Emergency, as same may be extended by subsequent order or declaration,
unless earlier terminated by subsequent Emergency Order.
5. This Order shall be filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
Signed this c4,
day of April, 2020 at �, (am (pm).
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