Construction problems on the initial phase of the Monroe County Family Wellness Center project convinced the county to use a different process to award the contract to continue the multi-phase project, which angered contractors who initially submitted bids.

Venture Contracting Inc. of Glasgow was one of three contractors that submitted bids for the project. On Oct. 21 the Monroe Fiscal Court voted to reject all bids and to readvertise for design build proposals, instead of bids, because Jeff Arnold with Arnold Consulting Engineering Services Inc. of Bowling Green told county officials some of the bids were lacking in information and that it would be best to readvertise the project.

Daryl Wheeler, president of Venture Contracting Inc., threatened to take legal action against the Monroe Fiscal Court and said in a letter to Judge-Executive Wilbur Graves that his bid met the criteria required by the fiscal court’s scope of work. He also pointed out in the letter that his company’s bid of $2,411,395 was $368,575 less than the other bids.

Wheeler, along with representatives of J&S Construction, of Cookeville, Tenn., and Alliance Corporation of Glasgow, were present Thursday for a special-called fiscal court meeting for opening of the new design build proposals for the project. All three companies had originally submitted bids for the project. Joining them were representatives of the Monroe County Family Wellness Center’s board of directors.

Magistrates were asked to review the proposals and be prepared to make a decision on who should construct a building housing a six-lane swimming pool and cardio fitness area, plus support facilities, on Tuesday.

The sealed design build proposals, which did not contain dollar amounts, were opened and distributed to magistrates by Arnold.

“We asked them to give us their proposal packets and we also asked in a separate envelope to give us their best take on how to spend the last part of the money on energy efficient items to try to get the monthly operating cost as low as possible for the wellness board,” Arnold said.

The county was awarded $3 million by the state legislature for the project when it passed House Bill 308 in 2006. Of the original $3 million, $2,927,000 remains.

While Arnold opened the sealed design build proposals, Graves explained the selection process.

“There has been so much confusion and misunderstanding that I don’t think a lot of people understand the difference in a bid process and a design build process,” Graves said.

Magistrates were given the option of reviewing the proposals during Thursday’s meeting and making a selection then, or reviewing them over a period of a couple of days and then meet in special-session Tuesday.

Magistrate Alonzo Ford said he was one who misunderstood.

Graves told magistrates the bids for the project contained prices, but design build proposals didn’t.

“We’ve told the contractors that there was a $2.9 million budget to build a building and we are going to hold the other monies to spend for energy efficiency,” Arnold said.

As the design build proposals were being distributed to the magistrates, Rita Crabtree, chairperson of the Monroe County Family Wellness Center’s board of directors, brought up a statement that was made at the Oct. 21 fiscal court meeting regarding the board’s involvement in the project.