Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning And Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission tables selection for High Springs land-development-code rewrite; bidders to provide cost breakdowns
Summary
The commission delayed awarding an LDC rewrite contract after staff presented three proposals with wide price differences; two bidders spoke to the commission and the city asked for detailed fee breakouts and possible outside evaluation before a final decision.
The High Springs City Commission voted to table an award for the city's land development code (LDC) rewrite after staff reported three proposals with a broad price range and raised concerns about scope and comparability. The decision gives staff time to obtain breakdowns of lump-sum proposals, seek technical evaluation and return to the commission with more information.
Staff summary and recommendation: Planning staff told commissioners that the city received three proposals: Calvin Giordano & Associates (lowest bid), KCT Consulting Services and McGrath Consulting (highest bid). The staff recommendation had listed Calvin Giordano as the budget-friendly option but flagged small quality-control issues in that submittal and noted that McGrath offered the broadest team and the most extensive public-engagement plan. Staff reminded commissioners that the city had allocated $180,000 in ARPA funds for the work.
Bidders' remarks: Two respondents attended the meeting to answer questions. Kelly Turner, principal of KCT Consulting Services, said she would perform the work herself with a small supporting team and proposed monthly billing rather than a single lump sum. Allison McGrath, president of McGrath Consulting, described a multi-firm team that includes local planning and engineering partners and said their proposal prioritized public engagement and technical engineering review.
Why the commission tabled the award: Commissioners were concerned by the wide spread in pricing (roughly low to high across the three proposals) and by the presence of lump-sum proposals that lacked line-item breakouts. One commissioner said a low bid with typographical errors raised worries about approach and capacity. A motion to table the award and request further detail and evaluation passed unanimously.
Next steps: The commission asked staff to collect detailed fee breakouts from the respondents, to solicit an evaluative review (the commission requested staff ask the North Florida Regional Planning Council if it would provide an evaluation) and to return with supplemental information at the next meeting. Staff said tabling the award would delay the start by a few weeks but not materially change the fact that the LDC rewrite will be a long project likely to take many months.
Taper: The commission did not select a contractor tonight; staff will compile the requested breakdowns and technical clarifications and present the information at the next commission meeting.
