Apopka splash pad bidder decries city’s pick

Apopka finally named a contractor this week for its long-awaited splash pad, but the losing bidder on the project threw cold water on the city’s selection.

“I got cheated,” said Ryan Fitzgerald, president of Ryan Fitzgerald Construction Inc., whose bid was bounced by the City Council even though it was $162,000 less than a proposal submitted by AccuTech Construction Inc.

Apopka is home to both contractors, who boast extensive construction experience, though neither has built a splash pad. Fitzgerald said he’s considering a legal challenge, which could push back the day when Apopka kids can play in misters and sprayers.

Apopka doesn’t have a city pool, so until a splash pad is built, many kids here have to rely on garden hoses, squirt guns or rainstorms to cool off.

The City Council set aside $750,000 last year for a splash pad to give children in Orange County’s second-largest city the same refreshing respite from summer heat as youths elsewhere in Central Florida. Clermont, Deltona, Eustis, Lake Mary, Leesburg, St. Cloud, Sanford, Winter Garden and Winter Springs all have splash pads.

“We’re not walking away from this without a fight,” Fitzgerald said, pointing out that AccuTech not only submitted a more costly proposal, but also missed the city’s submission deadline. AccuTech turned in its proposal four minutes later than the 2 p.m. July 19 deadline, a technicality the council chose to waive.

Winning the project was important, said Fitzgerald, 43, who’s lived in Apopka since he was 3. “I’ve done stuff from Puerto Rico to Alaska, all over the United States. But I don’t really have a marquee project in my hometown. There’s emotion involved, pride involved,” he said. “I’d love for my granddaughter to go see what her papa did.”

The city sought bids earlier this year, but the initial round ended in disappointment in April. The city got no submissions. The original request included construction of new bathrooms, which the city has since farmed out for $112,910. Then Apopka hired a Tavares engineering firm Booth, Ern, Straughan & Hiott for $24,000 to draft a more technically specific request before launching a second round in June.

Apopka also held community workshops and surveyed residents, including schoolchildren, seeking design ideas. Kids wanted water cannons, buckets that periodically dumped water on heads and an assortment of misters, sprinklers and sprayers to play in. The splash pad, which would be in Kit Land Nelson Park and ringed with shade structures and benches, should be divided into three play zones from “little to right at teenage,” Apopka administrator Glenn Irby said.

Another snag popped up in July because just two bidders, Fitzpatrick’s firm and AccuTech, submitted proposals instead of three, as required by the city’s procurement rules. Council members got around that problem by retroactively changing the procurement rule.

An advisory panel ranked AccuTech’s bid higher than Fitzgerald’s in all categories, including design. But Fitzgerald said his conservative design was deliberately more “Ford than a Lexus” to stay closer to the city’s budget for the project, which was trimmed to $613,090.

AccuTech’s top bid was $934,563 and Fitzgerald’s was $772,563. Irby said the city would meet with AccuTech to try to “tailor” the firm’s proposal to better align with the city’s budget.