Pasco County commissioners voted to uphold the county administrator’s determination that Sunbelt Site & Grady was not eligible to protest a solicitation award and to proceed with awarding the contract to Megascapes Landscape Services Inc.

Purchasing Director Carrie Roberts summarized the procurement timeline and staff’s recommendation. Roberts said three bids opened June 3 (Agriturf/Agriture Premium Sod, Megascapes Landscape Services Inc., and Sunbelt Site & Grady). A notice of intent to award to Megascapes was posted June 6; Sunbelt timely filed a protest on June 12 and the purchasing director denied Sunbelt’s eligibility to protest under section 2-124(b)(6) of the Pasco County Purchasing Ordinance. The county administrator sustained that decision and staff recommended the commission uphold the administrator’s determination and award the contract to Megascapes.

Leslie Sylvan, president of Sunbelt Site & Grady, told the commission Sunbelt has held Pasco contracts since 2004 and argued the county recommended award without adequate verification. Sylvan said Megascapes did not meet the solicitation’s three-year in-business requirement per Sunbiz records and initially was not listed in E-Verify; Sunbelt asked the board to either find Sunbelt eligible to protest or to disqualify the higher-ranked bidders.

Roberts told the commission Megascapes provided proof of E-Verify registration after the recommendation; the purchasing department said the bid documents require a vendor to participate in E-Verify but do not require vendors to submit proof at bid opening. Roberts also summarized the review and protest timeline: Sunbelt requested administrative review; the county administrator upheld the purchasing director’s eligibility decision; Sunbelt appealed to the Value Adjustment or Protest body (VOCC) and staff again recommended award to Megascapes.

A commissioner moved to adopt staff’s recommendation; the motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote with all commissioners saying “aye.” The board’s action upheld the county administrator’s decision that Sunbelt was not an "interested party" under the purchasing ordinance and approved award of the contract to Megascapes for $1,410,000. No commissioners recorded a nay or abstention on the microphone.

Sunbelt’s protest raised questions about compliance with Florida Statute 448.095 (E-Verify requirement for public contracts) and the bidders’ registration history; the county’s procurement staff responded that Megascapes provided E-Verify documentation when asked and represented that the entities with similar names are legally separate but share ownership and the same operating location. The board did not direct further fact-finding; commissioners approved staff’s recommendation to proceed with award.