OKEECHOBEE — During the Nov. 19 Okeechobee City Council meeting, Councilman Bob Jarriel questioned some of the bids and bidding practices in the city.

During business meetings, the consent agenda is made up of things that normally would not need discussion and can just be voted on as a whole. If any member requests it, an item can be removed from the consent agenda and moved into regular business for discussion.

On Tuesday night, there were several items on the consent agenda that Jarriel requested be removed. These included:

• Motion to waive the formal bidding procedures in the code of ordinance section 2-284 and award a quote to Aerial Titans for the purchase of a towable boom lift in the amount of $32,100.
• Motion to waive the formal bidding procedures in the code of ordinances section 2-284 and award a quote to Airstron Mechanical for air conditioning modifications in the Administration and Finance Department in the amount of $31,000.
• Motion to waive the formal bidding procedures in the code of ordinances section 2-284 and award a quote to Bartow Ford for the purchase of a 2026 Ford F-750, full-size dump truck in the amount of $94,000.

 In reference to the towable boom lift, Jarriel said, “Our ordinance calls for bids for anything over $15,000. I thought our procedure was for three bids, and I noticed here we did get four bids but it’s from the same company but different pieces of equipment.” Jarriel went on to say he thought the three bids should be from different companies. City administrator Gary Ritter apologized, said it was an oversight and agreed to go back and get bids from three different companies.

In reference to the air conditioning modifications, Jarriel said there were three different bids, but they did not appear to be bidding on the same things. He added that one of the bids said electric work was included. He said he thought the bids should be on the same job and that there should be separate electric bids.

Ritter explained that there have been numerous issues with the air conditioning since he became administrator. He said they have done “Band-Aid” type fixes, and some worked and some did not. He said they have never had to get bids for air conditioning work in the past, but he got bids this time because he wanted the companies to really look at the problems they are having and present a solution, and the cost involved. Some came up with a few ideas. Some suggested different options that would work. They chose Airstron Mechanical because they felt the company presented them with the best plan.

Jarriel asked why the other companies were not given a chance to bid on the exact same solutions. He also asked why they did not bid the electric out separately. Ritter said the companies had the chance to look at the problems and trouble shoot.

Jarriel asked why the highest bid was chosen, and Ritter said they would be purchasing a new air handler that should require less maintenance.

Vice Mayor Monica Clark said her company, Glades AC, was not told they were bidding on renovating the entire air conditioning system. She added that she was told the other company was selected was because they included electrical work in their bid. Clark said the Glades AC bid noted they would use a local contractor to do any high voltage electrical work. She added that the bid was awarded back in May, and she did not know why it was being discussed now. Ritter said it was awarded in May, but they did not have money in the budget for it in May. Clark said she believes when the city goes out for bids, they should be specific about the requirements, so it will be "apples to apples."

After a back-and-forth discussion, it was decided that it would be re-bid. Clark did not vote on this matter, because her company was involved.

The last bid involved the purchase of a Ford F-750. For this one, Jarriel said there were only two bids and again, they were "apples to oranges." One was from Bartow Ford for a 2026 F-750 with a 10-foot bed dump truck. The other was from Gilbert Chevrolet for a 2024 Chevrolet 4500 with a 14-foot bed. “This is not apples to apples. I don’t see how we can accept it,” said Jarriel.

Andres Rodriguez, contracts manager for the city, spoke to the council on the subject. He said he reached out to four different businesses for bids, Gilbert Ford, Gilbert Chevrolet, Ford Fleet and Bartow Ford. They gave the companies about a month to turn in their bids. Gilbert Ford could not bid because of the specs on the vehicle. The price would have been over the threshold, and they could not get it in time. Chevy could not quote one that would match the specs. The Fleet company was able to get a 750, but their system was down for about three weeks. He explained the reason they wanted a 750 was they needed to stay below a certain weight to avoid needing a CDL license to drive it, but they still needed it to do all the things they required. He added that it appeared to be apples to oranges but the two different trucks in the quotes both met those requirements.

The council requested this be re-bid with the same vehicles so they will be apples to apples.