County mulls re-starting relationship with the Marion County Roadbuilders Association

The Marion County Commission meets at the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

During the Nov. 2 Marion County Board of Commission meeting, the board considered rejecting two bids related to road work on NW 49th/35th Street from Commercial Industrial Corp for $25.6 million, and Anderson Columbia Co. for $35.5 million.
County Administrator Mounir Bouyounes indicated that two bids were “a lot higher than expected,” which led to the proposed rejections.
During a discussion of the agenda item, Commissioner Kathy Bryant expressed support for reaching out to open dialogue with the Marion County Road Builders Association (MCRBA) for the purpose of re-establishing a partnership.
Bouyounes responded affirmatively that the county had success in the past using a professional facilitator between the two sides, but that had stopped about a decade ago.
Bouyounes welcomed a re-start of the relationship, saying, “We have a lot of projects on the books to be done. And some are very complicated projects. So, I think that partnership will help brainstorm and work together for the benefit of the community.”
“We are at a critical time with our road projects. We certainly want to make sure we have great working relationships with those working in our community and also making sure we can move those projects forward expediently,” said Bryant.
Commission chair-elect Carl Zalak supported forming a partnership, and later noted, “Cost structures are going crazy, and so, you have to have the people that are doing the work at the table and not just a bid process. The bid process right now works normally. But in this day with pricing, scheduling, supply shortages…they’re all becoming challenges. And so, you have to be at the table more regularly to face those challenges.”
Since the meeting, the Office of the County Engineer has reached out to the MCRBA about scheduling a sit-down between the two entities, says Bouyounes.