(May 7, 2015) With the one-year anniversary of the opening of the new yacht club in Ocean Pines coming up this month, the community released a “lessons learned” report on March 27 covering the construction and first 10 months of operations at the new facility.
Included in the report, written by General Manager Bob Thompson, Public Works Director Eddie Wells and “task force member” Ted Moroney, is the final price tag of the yacht club, $4,770,110, more than $450,000 over the original cost listed in the community referendum.
The 13-page document, available on the Ocean Pines Association website under “forms and documents,” summarizes the project from the design phase, through the selection process and the construction, and includes a brief analysis of the first 10 months of operations.
Three bidders initially vied for construction of the yacht club: Harkins Builders, Lehman Construction Services Inc. and Gillis Gilkerson Inc.
According to the report, “After initial bids … it was the recommendation of the Task Force led by the General Manager to select Lehman.”
Gillis was eliminated after the company was “non-responsive to changes the OPA requested after the first round of pricing,” the report said.
Harkins, meanwhile, remained in contention despite offering the highest price tag, and was eventually selected by the board of directors in a 7-0 vote.
The decision was “based primarily on the architect’s services,” the report stated, later adding, “In our opinion Harkins was fully capable and did a quality job as the contractor” after construction was complete.
Harkins had a base contract of $3.8 million before “OPA costs w/o Harkins change orders,” added $677,276 to construction costs. Nearly $400,000 of the increase was tied to kitchen equipment, with another $119,013 credited to OPA Public Works.
In order to facilitate the additional costs, the board voted to approve an increase of $456,000. According to the report, the “total project value” of the new yacht club is $4,770,297.
Construction was set back due to “one of the coldest and wettest [winters] in recent years,” and the report admitted the “brand new structure … created many challenges” when it opened on Memorial Day 2014.
“Our team had little time to become familiar with the facility and the operational elements within,” the report said. “Insufficient training of staff, lack of operational understanding and some inefficient design elements created new challenges to overcome.
“We are currently addressing a majority of the design issues encountered and are currently interviewing for a new Yacht Club manager with the experience and skillset to do a more effective job managing his/her resources,” the report said.
“Having the majority of the design issues addressed, a new Yacht Club manager in place and a better understanding of operational flow will lead to overall operational improvements today and well into the future.”
The full text of the report is available at http://d35kfgouydouco.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/YACHT-CLUB-Final-Narrative.pdf.
Included in the report, written by General Manager Bob Thompson, Public Works Director Eddie Wells and “task force member” Ted Moroney, is the final price tag of the yacht club, $4,770,110, more than $450,000 over the original cost listed in the community referendum.
The 13-page document, available on the Ocean Pines Association website under “forms and documents,” summarizes the project from the design phase, through the selection process and the construction, and includes a brief analysis of the first 10 months of operations.
Three bidders initially vied for construction of the yacht club: Harkins Builders, Lehman Construction Services Inc. and Gillis Gilkerson Inc.
According to the report, “After initial bids … it was the recommendation of the Task Force led by the General Manager to select Lehman.”
Gillis was eliminated after the company was “non-responsive to changes the OPA requested after the first round of pricing,” the report said.
Harkins, meanwhile, remained in contention despite offering the highest price tag, and was eventually selected by the board of directors in a 7-0 vote.
The decision was “based primarily on the architect’s services,” the report stated, later adding, “In our opinion Harkins was fully capable and did a quality job as the contractor” after construction was complete.
Harkins had a base contract of $3.8 million before “OPA costs w/o Harkins change orders,” added $677,276 to construction costs. Nearly $400,000 of the increase was tied to kitchen equipment, with another $119,013 credited to OPA Public Works.
In order to facilitate the additional costs, the board voted to approve an increase of $456,000. According to the report, the “total project value” of the new yacht club is $4,770,297.
Construction was set back due to “one of the coldest and wettest [winters] in recent years,” and the report admitted the “brand new structure … created many challenges” when it opened on Memorial Day 2014.
“Our team had little time to become familiar with the facility and the operational elements within,” the report said. “Insufficient training of staff, lack of operational understanding and some inefficient design elements created new challenges to overcome.
“We are currently addressing a majority of the design issues encountered and are currently interviewing for a new Yacht Club manager with the experience and skillset to do a more effective job managing his/her resources,” the report said.
“Having the majority of the design issues addressed, a new Yacht Club manager in place and a better understanding of operational flow will lead to overall operational improvements today and well into the future.”
The full text of the report is available at http://d35kfgouydouco.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/YACHT-CLUB-Final-Narrative.pdf.