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County awards FEMA-recovery contract to Thomas Howell Ferguson, officials say scopes of work are the critical next step
Summary
Commissioners approved Thomas Howell Ferguson to prepare and manage FEMA disaster applications; county emergency staff warned that written scopes of work are required before many road, culvert and park recovery projects can move to construction or reimbursement stages.
The Baker County Commission voted Feb. 18 to award RFQ 2024-18 — professional services for FEMA grant development and submission — to Thomas Howell Ferguson (THF). Commissioners approved the recommendation on a voice vote.
County emergency management director Johnny Blanchard said THF will help the county complete voluminous FEMA submissions spawned by recent storms. Blanchard and emergency staff reported the county has logged nearly $5 million in potential storm-related work across roads, bridges and parks but said much of that work is at the conceptual stage and cannot proceed to bidding or construction until detailed scopes of work and permitting are prepared.
“Scope of work is the trigger point to actually begin putting together the project for construction,” Blanchard said, explaining FEMA’s reimbursement rules and permitting bottlenecks. He listed major projects that remain in the FEMA pipeline, including a large box culvert on County Road 23A, a Turner Cemetery bridge replacement, Shoals Park repairs and a new boat-ramp plan.
Steve Stevens, shareholder with Thomas Howell Ferguson, told commissioners THF will review the county’s needs, make sure submissions comply with federal rules including 2 CFR 200 and the FEMA policy guide, and help produce scopes and specifications. “If it is allowed under the contract, we can sub it out to an engineering firm as long as that scope of work that we signed on to allows for it,” Stevens said.
Blanchard and staff said the lack of completed scopes is the main obstacle. Without scopes, projects cannot be fully evaluated by FEMA’s Consolidated Resource Center for eligibility and cost-benefit analysis, nor can permits be taken to state or federal agencies. For example, Shoals Park is awaiting maintenance records; the Boy Scout camp boat-ramp project has an inter-agency coordination issue at FEMA and cannot be advanced until that is resolved.
Commissioners directed staff to work with THF to identify where consultants can speed scope production and to return with a plan. The board approved the THF award by motion and voice vote.
