By Lisa ZahnerINDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Evidence of legal problems with the sand mine that would have been the sole source for a much-needed beach restoration project prompted County Commissioners Tuesday to uphold their decision to deny Stormwater and Underground the contract, even though it had the lowest offer on the table.At the end of a three-hour discussion, the Indian River Board of County Commissioners voted 4-0 with Chairman Wesley Davis abstaining to stick with its choice of Ranger Construction of Fort Pierce to carry out the project, which will involve trucking in 26,000 loads of sand to replenish a 6.5-mile stretch of beach from Treasure Shores Park to John’s Island. After testimony from staffers, engineers and the public, the deciding factor for at least three of the four commissioners in voting against Stormwater and Underground was evidence brought to light by Commissioner Peter O’Bryan regarding the checkered history of the Brian Davis Sand Mine with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The mine, owned by the brother of Chairman Wesley Davis, would have been the sole source of sand for Stormwater and Underground.O’Bryan catalogued a series of code violations at the mine going back to 2008, when Brian Davis was cited for having septic tanks and other unapproved equipment present at the mine. According to O’Bryan’s research:Sept 24, 2008 — An inspection revealed code enforcement violations for operating a septic tank business at the mine, sheds, junk vehicles and solid waste debris found on the mine and, in O’Bryan’s words, “the mine was being used as an unregulated, unapproved landfill.”November 14, 2008 — Another inspection showed that violations discovered in September had not been corrected, a Cease and Disist Order was issued.January and February 2009 — Septic tanks and equipment still on the siteFebruary 2009 — FDEP converted the civil case against the Davis Sand Mine to a criminal case.April 27, 2009 — A 60-day extension was grantedJuly 27, 2009 — Violations were still not corrected.O’Bryan stated that a criminal case being opened up by FDEP, the agency which would be issuing the permit on the Sector 3 beach sand project, would lead to delays in getting the beach replenishment underway and completed.”I have very, very deep concerns that this mine would get a permit in a timely manner to get the sand on the beach this year,” O’Bryan said. “The down side if we have delays, if we have a storm and property loss, that damage would result in tens of millions of dollars.”
O’Bryan pointed out that Stormwater and Underground was “never the recommended bidder for a project to be completed in 2009-2010.”
Commissioner Bob Solari seconded the motion to deny the appeal, concurring with O’Bryan’s concerns. Drawing on his own business experience in the citrus industry dealing with the vagaries of weather and mechanical failures, Solari weighed heavily Ranger’s ability to draw material from three different suppliers.”This is not a perfect world and equipment breaks down and it rains in different parts of the county at different times,” he said. “The idea of having multiple suppliers makes sense.” Gary Wheeler also agreed that the new information brought to light regarding the violations led him to favor upholding the Board’s initial decision. “I have concerns about the history of the mine, DEP knows about that and St. John’s River Water Management District knows about that,” he said. “We have to consider which bidder has the best chance of getting that DEP permit so we can get the sand on the beach this year.”Stormwater and Underground is expected to continue to pursue a hearing of its claims of improper bidding and procurement practices in circuit court now that all administrative procedures with the county have been exhausted. On the chance that its case may be accepted by the court and prevail, commissioners were asked by staff to approve a $21,000 work order with Coastal Tech engineering consultants to include the sand from the Brian Davis Sand Mine in permit modification paperwork. After making a motion to go with the staff recommendation, commissioners voted down the work order.This was to be a precautionary measure, as starting from scratch months into the game after legal proceedings were concluded would delay the project so work could not commence prior to the cutoff date of May 1, 2010 when the beach cannot be disturbed due to sea turtle nesting season.Stormwater and Underground submitted a base bid of $7,068,022 and Ranger submitted a base bid of $7,270,807, which the county accepted with a 4-0 vote on Sept. 8. Stormwater and Underground objected to the county’s decision as they were the low bidder, which led to the proccedings Tuesday.