MILTON — Five offers have been submitted to manage the Navarre Beach fishing pier, but Santa Rosa County commissioners may wait months before they select a contractor.
Pier Inc.’s existing contract to manage the pier expires at the end of the year, and county officials solicited proposals to rebid the contract a few months ago. Although the bids were opened April 9, most commissioners have said they want to hold off on making a decision.
“I know we need to go through this process, but I think this process probably needs to start at the end of summer or the first of September, Commissioner Jim Williamson said at Monday’s committee meeting. “I don’t see it as something that’s that urgent.”
The five offers came from Hidden Treasure Water Sports Management Group, Coastal Concessions, Pasco Gibson and Yolanda Wells, Kenny Cook and Bob Benaquis, and Pier Inc., which has managed the pier since it reopened in June 2010.
Commissioner Jim Melvin said he did not think it was fair to the bidders for the county to sit on their offers for months without taking action.
“We’ve asked for and received five individuals’ proposals, and those proposals are set in concrete,” Melvin said. “They can’t change them. It’s what they said they wanted to do. It’s what they asked us to consider. I think it is a matter of urgency for the five that submitted. They need to know if they need to proceed with their business plan one way or the other or consider investing their resources in other areas.
“They proposed to us and I think they need, not a snap answer, but an answer in a reasonable amount of time,” he added.
Commissioners on Thursday will schedule a time to meet with the people and firms.
Dorothy Slye of Pier Inc. and Joey Bryant of Coastal Concessions urged commissioners to interview the candidates and make a decision immediately.
“As the current operator of the pier, there are a lot of things we need to do, and if we retain the contract we need to go ahead and spend some money,” Slye said. “We’re going to go through the busiest part of our season and not be able to buy more chairs or buy a freezer or buy the things you need to operate on.
“If it goes to another company, there are a lot of things they need to know are not going to go with the contract so that they can go and purchase the things that they need to get it up and running in January,” she added. “It’s better for all concerned if you all could just get this over with and decide who you want to manage it, whether it’s us or somebody else.”
Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.