Council OKs $370,376 work order for conceptual police headquarters design

The Doral City Council voted June 4 to authorize a work order with Stantec Consulting Services Inc. for conceptual design of a proposed police headquarters, not to exceed $370,376.26.

Lazaro Quintero, chief of the capital improvements division, told the council the site under consideration is the parcel that currently contains the police training facility and that the study area is about 35,000 square feet; he said the existing training building is 12,680 square feet and that the parcel is leased from the state (lease entered in February 2008). "That area is approximately about 35,000 square feet," Quintero said during the presentation.

The work order covers program verification (stakeholder interviews and space needs), a schematic/concept phase producing two design options and preliminary cost estimates, and a construction cost estimate to inform future budgeting. The consultant's schedule allocates roughly two months for programming and about three months to develop concept designs; staff expects to present concepts to the council in early 2026.

Council members asked why the city accessed Stantec through the city's prequalified pool rather than soliciting a separate competitive bid. The city manager and procurement staff explained the firm was selected from a council-approved prequalification list that is refreshed periodically; procurement rules allow using the prequalified pool for professional-engineering and architecture services for projects below applicable statutory thresholds (the staff said the threshold is around $500,000). Once a design is selected and if the project exceeds statutory thresholds, construction and major design contracts would be procured through the standard bidding process.

Councilman Rafael Pinedo moved approval; Councilwoman Nicole Reynoso seconded. The motion carried unanimously.