In January 2017, the Pensacola City Council approved a contract for $720,328 for Caldwell Associates Architects (CAA) to design a $5.5 million community center for Bayview Park (see Caldwell contract).
However, CAA sent an invoice to the City on July 27, 2017 (Inv. #16916) that increased the contract by $118,758 to $848,086, and the city paid $17,813.70 for schematic design that was part of the “Basic Service Contract Change” (see 0075407-2) section of the invoice.
Somewhere between CAA’s first invoice (0075407-1) that’s dated April 20 and July 27 the scope and budget of the project changed from $5.5 million to $8.25 million.
However, the city council didn’t vote to build the $8.25 million community center until Sept. 20.
Inweekly requested by email yesterday that CFO Dick Barker explain how the purchase order was $720,328 and yet the city began paying on a $848,086 contract two months before the council’s vote.
We’ve asked Barker to provide any documents that gave Brian Cooper, the head of Parks & Recreation, the authority to increase the contract and purchase order and pay the additional $17,813 listed in CAA Inv. 16916.
Stay tuned.