Commission approves notice to accept proposals for unsolicited city hall project

The Fort Lauderdale City Commission on Tuesday approved a walk-on resolution to provide public notice and accept competing proposals for an unsolicited project proposal to design, finance and build a new city hall.

Under the resolution, the city will publish a notice of intent for the unsolicited proposal submitted by Infrastructure North America and allow other proposers to submit competing offers during a 60-day window after the initial publication. The measure passed 3-2, with Commissioner Beasley Pittman and Vice Mayor John Herbst voting no. Commissioner Sorensen and Commissioner Glassman voted yes; Mayor Dean J. Trantellis cast the deciding yes vote.

City staff told commissioners the 60-day period will begin on the date the notice is published, which will include posting in the Florida Administrative Register and two notices in the Sun Sentinel. Raquel, a city staff member handling the item, said, “I think in section 3, it stipulates how that notice will be conducted,” and added the city will notify local government authorities before the publication date is set.

Commissioners discussed timing and paperwork. Commissioner Glassman asked what constitutes the “initial date of publication.” A city attorney’s office representative replied that the clock starts with the date of publication in the Florida Administrative Register; staff added they expect to post in the Sun Sentinel within approximately two weeks and will notify commissioners when the publication date is set.

The resolution follows the competitive-procurement provisions in state law for unsolicited proposals. The approved language instructs staff to publish the notice and accept other proposals submitted on or before the sixtieth day after the notice’s publication. The resolution was introduced as a walk-on and discussed at the meeting; commissioners filled the publication date into the final notice once the city schedules the Sun Sentinel ad and FAR posting.

The vote record in the meeting transcript shows: Commissioner Beasley Pittman — No; Commissioner Sorensen — Yes; Vice Mayor John Herbst — No; Commissioner Glassman — Yes; Mayor Dean J. Trantellis — Yes. The commission approved the measure, authorizing staff to proceed with public notice and to accept competing proposals during the 60-day window.

City staff said next steps are to finalize the notice text, publish it in the Florida Administrative Register and the Sun Sentinel, and then accept any competing proposals received before the 60-day deadline.