BROOKSVILLE — Hernando County Commissioner Steve Champion has had enough.
At the April 14 commission meeting, Champion rejected a $1.214 million bid from Air Mechanical and Service Corp. to replace four rooftop air conditioning units at the county detention center, calling the price “unacceptable” and demanding three estimates instead of one.
“It can be a lot cheaper than that,” he said. “Why can’t we get bids from local companies that come in?”
It was familiar territory. Champion has repeatedly accused contractors of inflating prices on county work, from fire stations to air conditioning systems to building repairs, and has succeeded several times in forcing rebids. His argument, drawn from his private-sector experience, is that the county is paying well above market rates.
The commission ultimately voted 4-0 to deny a separate $101,159 contract with Seggie Custom Builders LLC for soffit and gutter work at the Eastside Library branch. A package of other contracts passed 3-1, with Champion voting no.
County Administrator Jeff Rogers defended the AC bid, noting Air Mechanical is a local company and that the work involves an active jail where security protocols require every tool brought on site to be accounted for.
Rogers acknowledged the cost was significant but said local contractors often pass on county jobs because government approval timelines slow payment compared with private work. He could not say why other bidders did not respond.
Commissioner Ryan Amsler said he supported the AC contract but worried about change orders driving up the price. Procurement Director Carla Rossiter-Smith said she could not rule them out. Amsler noted the detention center has been “limping along” for years and the job would require cranes to lift units off the roof, plus interior work and filter replacement.
Amsler took sharper aim at the library soffit bid, which he said ran roughly three times commercial pricing based on a quick Google search.
“This was under the prequalified contract,” Rossiter-Smith said. The request for quotes went out Feb. 18. All prequalified contractors were solicited; Seggie was the only bidder. The Facilities Department reviewed the price and deemed it fair and reasonable.
“I just think maybe we need more bids,” Amsler said. “I’m no expert on soffit and gutters. It seems like a hundred grand — I just did a quick Google search and the three-times price came from there.”
He said Seggie does good work for the county but added, “I’m just looking out for the taxpayer.”
Champion compared the library job to work on his own home.
“My house is smaller than the 8,500 square feet of the library building, and I spent $5,000 to do all the gutters, soffits and downspouts,” he said. “It can’t be that much more for this building.”
County Engineer Scott Herring said patching the existing system would be “throwing good money after bad.” The project has been deferred for two years, he said, and the department will rebid it if directed.
Failing to bid
The single-bidder problem extends beyond library repairs. Rossiter-Smith said contractors increasingly tell her they are too busy to bid. For the AC project, two companies attended the pre-bid conference but declined to submit, citing existing workloads.
Rogers said he recently approached a contractor about a Hernando fire station and was told the firm already had four stations under construction in Ocala.
“Why would they come across the county lines when they can stay at home and build stations?” Rogers said.
The competition is regional. Florida has 67 counties and roughly 140 cities maintaining capital projects, Rogers said. Pasco County recently opened three new fire stations and has three more under construction, scheduled to open in 2027, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Rogers said the county will host a contractor meet-and-greet on May 15 to expand its bidder pool.
Champion was unmoved.
“I’m tired of it. A million-two is crazy,” he said. “We used to build 160,000-square-foot stores for under $3 million with 30 air conditioners on the roof. Why does it cost so much?”
Other action
The contracts approved 3-1 included:
A $199,359.36 award to Goodwin Bros. Construction Inc. for the Old Spring Lake Pond Retrofit Project; a $222,976 award to TITAN Consultants & Engineers LLC for the Linda Pedersen Boardwalk repair; a $125,000 term contract with Action Environmental LLC for household hazardous waste transportation and disposal; a $208,545 term contract with Quality Equipment & Parts Inc. for a remote-controlled tree trimmer; a $19,829.78 change order with Seggie Custom Builders LLC for the Cypress Lakes Residence renovation; a $278,961 change order with Mohsen Design Group Inc. for design and inspection services tied to the Runway 3-21 conversion project at Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport; a $137,144 purchase from Mid Florida Diesel Inc. for utility generators through the Florida Sheriffs Association contract; and a $54,288.32 purchase of Fortinet cybersecurity software from Safari Micro Inc. for the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court through the Omnia Partners contract.
Tampa Bay Beacons reporter Mike Camunas contributed to this report.