Commission debates RFQ design: task orders, budgets and local firms

Commissioners discussed a draft request for qualifications (RFQ) Sept. 9 intended to create a set of consultants the Amity River Basin Drainage and Water Conservation District could call upon for surveying, engineering, environmental and acquisition services. Legal counsel Larry Bankston and several commissioners said the RFQ is a draft intended to give the district flexibility to act quickly on future projects and to preserve potential federal reimbursement if federal funds are used. Bankston said one purpose of the RFQ is to have firms already qualified so the district could move nimbly on time-sensitive real-estate matters. Several commissioners argued for a task-order-driven approach rather than a lump-sum contract. Commissioner Quintma said the RFQ should specify budgeted dollar amounts by service category (for example, surveying, environmental) so the district can plan and choose among specialists. "I prefer to remove lump sum and have a task order driven," he said. Commissioner Quitmore and others argued for maintaining a bench of specialized firms (surveyors, environmental firms, engineers) instead of naming a single prime engineering firm with subs. Quitmore said smaller local firms often execute work faster and at lower cost. Commissioner Raiford also supported task orders, noting cost and markup concerns with large prime contractors. Several commissioners suggested staff prepare a revised RFQ that breaks services into major categories (land surveying, civil engineering, environmental) and includes not-to-exceed amounts and task-order language; staff and counsel said they will return a revised draft for further review. No formal vote was taken; the commission agreed to continue refining the draft and asked Executive Director Paul Sartre to solicit parish-level input on consultant-bench practices and to bring suggested budgetary ranges back to the board.