A Coral Springs resident appeared before the City Commission last week and complained that his firm had been denied a chance to bid for the $13.5 million project that involves renovation of the public safety complex and construction of a new fire station.

Todd Nezwek, president of Bluewater Builders Inc. and a Coral Springs resident for 13 years, filed a formal protest with the city after his firm was not among the three companies prequalified for the project. City staff did not respond when he tried to find out from them why his firm was denied a chance to bid, Nezwek said.

“I own a business here. I am committed to the community,” Nezwek said. “This is a major project in our community. And here I have been denied an opportunity to at least bid for the project even though we are qualified to do it. Never once was the bid publicized. It is almost as if the process is being rushed through.”

Pirtle Construction Co., which has been awarded the contract for the project, did not present facts in a truthful manner, Nezwek said. “Every firm that wanted to bid for the project had to provide details of its legal history. Pirtle said it had no legal history. To me, that is fraud. Yet, they were allowed to bid for the project.”

Bluewater Builders Inc. did not meet the criteria that were established to prequalify builders, said Angelo Salomone, Coral Springs purchasing administrator. “We received 11 proposals and five were called in for interviews. The companies had to show they had completed a public safety building project of $5 million within the last seven years. They also needed to have experience with the LEED process.”

“Bluewater Builders constructed a community center in Coconut Creek. It does not house the fire or police department, Salomone said. “The center is operated by the Parks and Recreation Department. Nobody on the evaluation committee thought it was a public safety building.”