The long awaited Regional Library, to be built in Gosford, is facing yet another delay.
Only one submission was received in reponse to the request for tender to build the library at 123A Donnison St and to demolish the building currently on site.
Council staff are recommending the Administrator reject that tender at the March 28 Council-under-administration meeting.
“The contract’s evaluation team has completed an initial evaluation of the submission in accordance with the tender’s evaluation criteria and has indicated that a successful outcome is most likely to be achieved through direct negotiation with one or all of the shortlisted proponents in lieu of a retender,” the report to the meeting states.
The tender evaluation is confidential.
In August 2021, the administrator approved the use of a two-stage process, an Expression of Interest (EOI) followed by a selective Request for Tender (RFT), combining the demolition and construction of the library.
Tenders closed on March 17.
“Council has evaluated submissions and identified departures and clarifications that present risk to Council and value management opportunities that must be investigated by Council to ensure best value for money is obtained for this contract,” the report states.
“Accordingly, it is recommended that Council decline all tenders associated with contract CPA/3691 and enter negotiations with any or all of the shortlisted proponents (previously identified through the EOI phase), with a view to entering a contract.”
The library is funded by a combination of Developer Contributions, a special levy collected from former Gosford Council, Federal Government Community Grant and internally restricted funds.
A total of $2,462,993 has been expended on the project to date (end of February).
The project has incurred numerous delays to the original timeline, including a delay in getting development approval from the State Government.
As a result, in September 2022, Council moved $9.1M earmarked for the library from this year’s capital works into next financial year.
” … a successful outcome is most likely to be achieved through direct negotiation with one or all of the shortlisted proponents in lieu of a retender,’
.. only one builder in NSW tendered ..
how demanding was the tender prepared by Council ?
compared to many buildings under construction in the CBD, the library is hardly a complex job
it’s not hard to imagine why we never got a Performing Arts Centre ..