At its Monday night meeting, the Safety Harbor City Commission unanimously approved awarding a $867,879 contract to Waterfront Property Services LLC to dredge the channel at the city's marina.
The project was budgeted to cost $225,000, but with rising construction costs, Commissioners had sticker shock at the lone qualifying bid the city received. City Manager Matthew Spoor told Commission to expect all future city projects to come in over budget, and that deciding against dedging the channel will in the future render the marina slips and boat launch to be unusable.
At a later meeting, Commission will be asked to approve funding transfers to cover the additional cost, with $250,000 coming from a Marshall Street Park Creek project that is no longer needed and the balance from Penny for Pinellas funds.
Photo credit/Scott Long, Quoz 34695