There were weather delays and mechanical delays during the big renourishment project on Fort Myers Beach. The company that did the work, Ahtna Marine & Construction, is now telling the town they lost over $4 million on the project.
Ahtna was the lower of three bids for the project which had a budget of $22 million. Ahtna came in at $21.7 million while Callen Marine came in at $37.2 million and Weeks Marine submitted a bid of $38.8 million. Callen actually considered filing a protest over Ahtna being awarded the bid, because they claimed “Ahtna Marine does not possess the available dredge(s) or other equipment to safely perform the project.” Nobody got hurt during the project but machinery malfunctions certainly added to delaying its completion. There was also Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton to contend with.
In addition to claiming they lost over $4 million on the project the Fort Myers Beach Town Council had a contractual option to withhold over $800,000 from their final payment to Ahtna because the project took 6 months longer to complete than what the company agreed to when they signed the $22 million deal back in the Summer of 2024.
The town’s contract with Ahtna had a provision that allowed the town to withhold $3,570 per day for every day the project was not completed on time. At 192 days late that totals $685,440. That amount is called liquidated damages. There was another $148,590 in actual damages to the town for additional construction management and observation, shorebird monitoring, and surveys. The total the Town Council will consider withholding from their final payment to Ahtna is $834,030…