Commission approves continuing-services consultant list; amends to include multiple firms per trade

The City Commission voted unanimously to accept staff’s evaluation of a continuing-professional-services Request for Qualifications (CCNA/RFQ) and to authorize contracts with the qualified firms — with a revision intended to include multiple qualified firms per trade rather than awarding a single firm exclusive preference.

Staff presented a list of recommended firms by trade (architecture, civil engineering, survey, geotechnical, structural, landscape, hydrogeology and others) and explained the RFQ process under Florida Statute 287.055 (Consultant Competitive Negotiation Act). The initial RFQ ranked firms by trade; staff’s recommendation was to negotiate with the highest-ranked firm per trade. Vice Mayor Goode raised concerns about awarding only a single firm per trade, warning that the practice could create de facto monopolies for projects and slow delivery if the selected firm lacked capacity.

After extended discussion about capacity, price, and speed of delivery, the commission amended the staff recommendation to accept the qualified firms from the RFQ as a library of continuing-service contracts and to allow staff to negotiate with multiple qualified firms (the top-ranked subset) so projects could be assigned based on availability, expertise and negotiated scope. Staff clarified the continuing contracts have a five-year initial term with two two-year renewal options; projects above statutory thresholds would still require separate procurement. The commission instructed staff to proceed with negotiations consistent with that approach.

The motion to accept staff’s evaluation and to include multiple firms per trade passed unanimously. City staff said if negotiations with a chosen firm fail, they will proceed to the next most qualified qualified vendor in the category, consistent with statutory requirements.