Siesta seawall project remains stuck in limbo

Bay Island Park has now been closed for more than a year for a county seawall repair project, and, due to ongoing construction at the site and multiple complications, the site could be closed well into 2014.

The park, on Bay Island at the foot of the north Siesta Key Bridge, has been closed since March 28, 2013, as part of a $997,937 project to restore 800 linear feet of seawall at the site.

The project’s contractor, CB Construction Services Corp., stopped work after the Aug. 27 death of Cresente Bautista, 59, the firm’s president and CEO. A passing boat found Bautista’s body on a sandbar in Big Pass. Foul play was not suspected, according to a Sarasota Police report.

The project was originally slated for completion Oct. 23, but, according to Sarasota County Project Manager Paul Semenec, after Bautista’s death the firm asked for and received a contract extension through December. The firm eventually decided to walk away from the project, however, by voluntarily defaulting on its contract, and sending the project to the surety company the county used to insure the contract.

According to Semenec, the surety company advertised the completion project in November, and bids were opened in January. The subsequent bids, however, were all higher than the surety bond amount of $997,379.

The surety company placed the bond money in federal court, and all claimants, including Sarasota County, as well as material suppliers and subcontractors are currently working on a settlement.

Once a settlement is reached, the county may receive a portion of the money needed to restart the project within two to four weeks. A settlement will also allow county staff to determine how much money will be needed to offset the project’s increase in price from the original a $997,937 bid.

“We will get the majority of the money,” Semenec said. “And, once we receive that money, we will know how much we have for the project.”

Nearby residents have begun to express their concerns about the park’s extended closure. Bay Island-Siesta Association President Erin Tom Vaughan-Birch wrote an email to County Commissioner Nora Patterson March 11 calling the project a “yearlong unsightly mess.”

“We urge you to request that the County Attorney’s Office move on this project as soon as possible,” Vaughan-Birch wrote.

Contact Nolan Peterson at [email protected]