Life As A Bureaucrat @ Thursday March 01, 2007 10:10 pm by WunderKraut

Life Of A Bureaucrat

So, I got a project out the door this week.

The project itself was very straightforward:

  • 120′ of 18″ RCP Storm Pipe
  • 300′ of 8″ PVC Sewer Pipe
  • Two - 4′ Diam. Manholes
  • One - 4′ Diam. Doghouse Manhole
  • 270 SY of 6′ Wide Sidewalk
  • 70 SY Remove and Replace Pavement
  • 50′ of 24″ Curb and Gutter
  • Remove 20 Trees
  • Plant 8 - 4″ Oak Trees

    • All told, the construction drawings were only 6 sheets: Cover, General Notes, three Design sheets and one sheet of typical details.

    Doing the design and preparing the construction plans was the easy part. Here is what I had to do in order to get the project out to bid:

    1. Request Account Number - me
    2. Assign Account Number - Finance
    3. Enter Requisition - me
    4. Prepare Contract Documents - me
    5. Review Contract Documents - Procurement
    6. Assign DBE Goal - Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
    7. Revise Contract Documents - me
    8. Schedule Pre-Bid Meeting - me, Procurement
    9. Schedule Bid Opening - me, Procurement
    10. Send Contract Documents To Printer - me
    11. Print and Bind Contract Documents - Print Shop
    12. Send Construction Plans To Printer - me
    13. Print and Bind Construction Documents - Dougherty Blueprint
    14. Advertise for Bid - Procurement

    That is what it took to get the project out to bid. Once the bids are opened I have to work with Procurement to prepare the Agenda Item for the City Commission Work Session. I have to attend the Work Session and present the Bid for approval. Hopefully they will vote “yes, but” because it is just a Work Session. Then I have to attend the night meeting, which is where the official vote will take place. After they vote to approve the project, I have to schedule a Pre-Construction meeting with the contractor and issue the Notice to Proceed.

    All of this for a $100,000 project that will take less than 60 days to construct. That is as long as it will take to bid and make it through the City Commission.

    Ah, but that is the life of a Bureaucrat. When you are dealing with the Public’s money, you have jump through all the hoops to make sure everything is on the up and up.

    But, I figured I would let you catch a small glimpse of my life.

    Comments are closed.