Chairman Tom and county staff agreed to remove the on-call commercial real estate broker services request from the Wednesday consent agenda and hold a workshop so commissioners can review the procurement process and conflict-of-interest safeguards.

The item would have established on-call broker services to help the county buy, lease and research real property. Tanya, a county procurement staff member, said the RFP advertised broadly and that the scope includes market research, price opinions, site inspections and transactional assistance. "So, what we're asking there is to to work with us or purchase or lease a real property. They help us with research on market conditions, preparing price opinions, consulting services that include site inspections, and then any activities or services such as with real estate transactions," she said.

A commissioner who said he is transitioning from city government questioned why the county uses an on-call roster rather than issuing a request for proposals (RFP) or bid per individual property. He also raised questions about who pays broker commissions and whether using an on-call list creates conflicts when the county transacts with a firm on that list. "Who’s paying the commission? Is the buyer paying the commission? Is the seller paying the commission?" he asked.

Procurement staff said the county formerly contracted for specific properties via separate solicitations and that, in practice, real estate deals are negotiated property-by-property to protect taxpayer interests. Staff said the current on-call roster had received three proposals and the recommendation was to select two vendors; they also noted the prior on-call agreement has expired. Staff advised that, after issuing an RFP, proposers must hold their pricing for 120 days.

Given those questions, the commission chair instructed staff to pull the item from the consent agenda and prepare a workshop briefing for the full commission. The clerk’s office will confirm whether the county has sufficient time to finalize any needed work while pricing holds remain in effect.

The pull means no contract award or renewal will be approved at Wednesday’s meeting; commissioners said they want a public briefing so the body and members of the public understand the rationale, how commissions are handled in any given transaction, and steps taken to avoid conflicts of interest.

Staff said they will return the item with additional explanations about the selection process, the number of proposers, the recommended roster size and how commission/fee arrangements are handled on a deal-by-deal basis. The commission did not take a formal vote on the item at the agenda-review session.