Monroe County commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a three-year contract with SLSCO Limited for backup emergency management logistics services after hearing a formal bid protest from a losing proposer.

The contract award drew a public protest from Ashford (identified in the meeting record as the protester), which urged the board to reject the award and reissue the request for proposals. Ashford’s speaker argued a single evaluator sharply reduced its score from an earlier solicitation without explanation, changing the recommended award.

County staff and the county’s legal advisor told the board the protest did not present legally sufficient evidence to overturn the procurement. Don Townsend, introduced as a member of county emergency management staff, told the board that courts give wide discretion to public procurement decisions and require clear proof of illegality, fraud or misconduct to invalidate an award.

After brief discussion, the board voted to approve the award. Roll-call votes recorded: Commissioner Gates — yes; Commissioner Lincoln — yes; Commissioner Raschein — abstain; Commissioner Rice — yes; Mayor Jim Scholl — yes. The clerk announced the motion passed.

Why it matters: the contract covers emergency logistics that would be used in disasters; the county’s position that evaluator score variation alone does not establish bias or illegality was central to denying the protest. The protester requested that the county reject all bids and reissue the RFP.

What happened in the hearing: Ashford’s representative told the board the same proposal received very different scores between solicitations and that one evaluator’s 26-point change was “inexplicable.” County counsel and staff replied that score variations across multiple evaluators and procurement cycles are not, by themselves, proof of bias and that Florida law requires more than numerical differences to overturn an award.

The board’s action resolves the immediate procurement and allows emergency logistics work under the SLSCO contract to proceed on the schedule cited in the agenda.