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Commission authorizes negotiations with top‑ranked firm for countywide water‑quality services after two presentations
Summary
After presentations by two finalist teams for the county—s water‑quality and environmental services RFQ, commissioners authorized the county administrator to begin negotiations with the top‑ranked firm (WGI).
The Board heard presentations from the two highest‑ranked respondents to a request for qualifications for professional water quality and environmental services and authorized staff to negotiate with the top‑ranked firm.
The public presentation portion included teams from WGI (a national firm headquartered in West Palm Beach) and Royal Consulting Services (a local firm with extensive agricultural and watershed experience). WGI highlighted a multi‑disciplinary bench with grant‑writing, Army Corps, and state agency expertise and offered technical tools (StormWise, FloodWise) and communications support. Royal Consulting emphasized deep local agricultural relationships, the Okeechobee Watershed Assessment Model (WAM) expertise, septic‑to‑sewer experience, and a demonstrated record securing state and local funding for BMPs and rural infrastructure.
After both 15‑minute presentations and commissioner questions, the board unanimously authorized the county administrator to begin negotiations with the top‑ranked firm; staff said any negotiated contract or fee arrangement would return to the full board for final approval. Commissioners asked for cap/fee guidance and staff confirmed some procurements are managed through a retainer or task‑order approach with separate fee proposals for grant writing or specialized tasks.
Why it matters: The selected vendor will serve as a long‑term technical and advocacy resource for watershed modeling, grant pursuit, stakeholder coordination and design work related to Lake Okeechobee watershed issues.
