Daniels and Daniels has low bid on veterans cemetery
By Steve Herring
Published in News on August 24, 2014 1:50 AM
A Goldsboro company submitted the low bid for the construction of the Eastern Carolina State Veterans Cemetery to be built on Long's Plant Farm Road east of Goldsboro. However, approval of the bid and contractor is not expected for another month.
Daniels and Daniels Construction Co.'s base bid of nearly $3 million -- and a base bid plus add alternates of $4,126,400 -- were the lowest among those submitted by the eight companies vying for the project.
However, the VA does not have to select the low bidder, said Eli D. Panee, N.C. Division of Veterans Affairs Cemetery program manager.
The bids were opened Aug. 14. Officials with SfL+a, the project architect, compiled the bids and recommended to the State Construction Office the company with the lowest bid, plus "add alternates."
The bid tally is also submitted to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Cemetery Grants Office in Washington, D.C.
"At this time, the ball is in VA's court," Panee wrote in an email. "We are awaiting approval of the bid and the contractor. We will not find out until the end of September. The Veterans Cemetery Grants Service office has to prepare and submit an administrative package for review and approval by the National Cemetery Administration and the Secretary for Veterans Affairs."
Add alternates are construction add-ons that will enhance the project, facilities or the aesthetic appearance of the cemetery.
Panee said the state received additional funds to do five of the seven add alternates, but added that he did not know which five that would be.
The seven proposed additions are a driveway and garage bays to the maintenance shed; double-depth concrete crypts in the burial area; a 10-foot-wide sidewalk and a memorial wall; fence and fence signs; flag assembly area and branch service flags; a set of Armed Forces medallions; and a through wall gravesite locator kiosk.
The other companies and their base and base plus alternates bids were:
* Bordeaux Construction, Durham, $3,029,500 and $4,315,000
* M-W Electric Co., Red Springs, $3,236,417 and $4,760,920
* Bristol General Contractors, Wilmington, $3,258,000 and $4,590,500
* DANIS, Raleigh, $3,294,900 and $4,597,900
* Muter Construction Co., Zebulon, $3,922,515 and $5,348,515
* Civil Works Contracting, Wilmington, $4,420,867.78 and $5,771,224.33
* Hine Sitework, Goldsboro, $4,903,000 and $7,519,600.
During a July briefing, Panee told Wayne County commissioners that construction is expected to take about 10 months, depending on the weather, and could cost between $3.8 million and $4.5 million.
The cemetery will occupy about 73 acres on Long's Plant Farm Road just off U.S. 70 east of Goldsboro.
The state has received a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs State Cemetery Grants Office to build the cemetery that will be maintained by the state. The state allocated $600,000, which was used to hire the architect and to design the project.
During the briefing, Panee said the site has a "pretty high water table." That means the site will require a lot of backfill, he said.
Panee said 1,968 casket sites would be available initially. The cemetery will eventually be large enough for 6,000 casket sites and more than 985 cremation sites, he said.