County Delays Construction Contract For New 4-H Facility

January 17, 2014

The Escambia County Commission decided Thursday to delay action on awarding a construction contract for a new Escambia County 4-H Center located at the Escambia County Extension Office on Stefani Road.

The total cost for the facility will be $1.65 million. The contract was to have been awarded to A.E. New, Jr., Inc. The company was the lowest of 12 companies that bid on the facility.

In 2012, the children and teens on the 4-H County Council voted to sell their 240 acre Langley Bell 4-H Center to Navy Federal Credit Union. Navy Federal paid $3.6 million for the property next to the credit union’s campus in Beulah, and the Escambia County Commission agreed to construct a new 4-H Center on Stefani Road with $1.5 million in local option sales tax (LOST) funds.

The new facility, as designed by Hernandez Calhoun Design International using input from 4-H leadership, has a final price tag $165,000 higher than originally planned. That amount was originally  to be covered by the 4-H Foundation, but the county was set to use additional LOST funds to pick up the difference.

Now, commissioners are going to further study the plan before taking addictional action.

NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.

Comments

9 Responses to “County Delays Construction Contract For New 4-H Facility”

  1. TT on January 17th, 2014 4:34 pm

    What is the problem with buying the Bayor property in Molino?

  2. tlad on January 17th, 2014 11:52 am

    In paragraph 4 reference is made to “4-H leadership”. Who exactly is that?

    I’m so very thankful that the CC did not vote to move forward with this project and pray that they will not do so until the 4-H kids get the Bayer property since that is the property the organization wants. . . .not what Pam Allen wants them to have!

  3. xpeecee on January 17th, 2014 9:27 am

    Smells like the collard pot is overflowing. The “right thing” would be to take the money from the sale of the 4H property and put all of it back into a new facility for the kids…… With that much money involved, it is not likely that the right thing will be done.

  4. anonymous on January 17th, 2014 9:06 am

    What an appropriate name. I had never even considered our Local Option Sales Tax to be ‘LOST’ funds.

  5. steve on January 17th, 2014 7:42 am

    lowest of twelve bids?? you get what you pay for, we see it over and over again with contracts. I suggest not going with a lot of special features that require big buck to replace in the future. get back to basics and make it a nice usable place.

  6. 4-H alumni on January 17th, 2014 7:00 am

    Sigh of relief! Thank you CC’s for a respite for more study and information gathering. So many of us are grateful for this decision! Thank you once again!

  7. 429SCJ on January 17th, 2014 6:37 am

    If NorthEscambia.com had not exposed all this skullduggery and mystery surrounding the handing of the children’s money, the commissioner’s would have felt comfortable and safe in proceeding to fleece them. They know now that the voters are watching them so they are hesitant to proceed.

    Continue William to shine the spotlight on the men and women players in this matter, who strive to weave and scheme in darkness.

    When election time comes, let us separate the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares.

  8. x4Her on January 17th, 2014 5:40 am

    Making sence now Please rethink all of the things that have transpired and say the pledge of the 4Hers– HEAD HEART HEALTH HANDS motto Repeat until you understand their pledge ! I pledge my Head to clear thinking ,my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands for greater service , my Health to better living.Put that in your decision making and you will come to a better conclusion as to what is best for the kids. I have heard it is now too late for the Bayer property Please look harder for better solutions. We are depending on you to do the right thing.

  9. Jane on January 17th, 2014 5:34 am

    Less for the children, again.