Hillsborough County committee ranks bidders for RFP B25S30221 for disaster management services

Hillsborough Countyevaluation committee members on June 13, 2025, met to evaluate proposals for RFP B25S30221, a solicitation for disaster and debris management services, scoring 12 proposals by consensus and excluding one submission as unacceptable. "This is the evaluation committee meeting for RFP 25-00221, disaster and debris management services. My name is Ethan Kersey. I'm the senior buyer assigned to this project," said Ethan Kersey at the start of the session.

The committee said it received 13 proposals on June 13, 2025; the submission from Poplar Trucking LLC was deemed unacceptable and was not scored. Committee members discussed three primary evaluation criteriaqualifications of the firm and professional personnel (Criterion 1), experience with projects of similar size and type (Criterion 2), and technical approach, schedule and cost effectiveness (Criterion 3)and then applied a fourth criterion related to cost/price and additional bonus point adjustments. Committee members reported consensus scores for each criterion and the panel compiled weighted totals and bonus points before ranking the firms.

Why this matters: the committeewhich includes county procurement staff and departmental reviewersis recommending a ranked list of vendors that will be used to advance procurement actions for disaster response and debris management. Selection and contracting from the final ranked list affect which firms the county can call on after storms or other emergencies.

Committee discussion: members compared resumes, project examples and the firms' proposed operational and mobilization approaches. Many reviewers noted that some proposals lacked specificity on past projects or on staffing and organizational charts; others praised firms that demonstrated recent, relevant work in Florida or nearby states. The committee repeatedly used consensus scoring: after each firm was discussed, members stated a consensus score that was entered into the record. The meeting chair also reminded attendees that the county's procurement code-of-communications restriction remained in effect during evaluation.

Final scores and ranking: the committee announced the final weighted totals and bonus-point adjustments and produced this ranking (score shown as total points): 1) Powder Gold Joint Venture Inc., 94.59; 2) Ashbrook Inc., 94.33; 3) Phillips Environmental LLC, 93.13; 4) Ceres Environmental Services Inc., 92.72; 5) ERC Emergency Services LLC, 89.49; 6) Environ Enterprises Inc., 79.90; 7) Brooks Creek Services MS Inc., 78.40; 8) Southern Disaster Recovery, 77.69; 9) Bergeron Emergency Services, 73.03; 10) CTC Disaster Response Inc., 51.18; 11) Office Space Inc., 49.97; 12) CP Data Construction (committee total 28). The committee confirmed those rankings on the record.

Decisions and next steps: committee members were asked to submit written notes and their signed rankings to the committee coordinator, and the chair said the procurement office will verify scores, apply any required administrative checks, and proceed with procurement steps consistent with county procedures. "Please also be advised that the code of silence is still in effect," Kersey said when opening the meeting.

The committee's work at this stage produced a ranked list and scoring documentation; the transcript shows the panel did not take a formal board vote within this meeting but instead reached consensus on evaluation scores and ordered the firms by total score for subsequent procurement processing.