Shelby County MWBE committee approves MWBE goals for AEDs and Whitehaven clinic, removes auto-body item

The Shelby County MWBE Goal Setting Committee on Jan. 28, 2025, took action on several procurement items, approving MWBE participation targets for hospital clinic construction and automated external defibrillator (AED) maintenance, recommending a local small-business (LOSB) approach for county lawn care and realtor services, and removing an auto-body repairs item from the agenda.

The committee approved a 27.6% MWBE participation goal for the Whitehaven clinic construction project and set a 49% MWBE subcontracting goal for county AED maintenance and monitoring services. The committee also approved a 0% MWBE goal for a county grass-cutting and lawn-care contract while recommending the work be procured through the county's LOSB (local small-business) sheltered market. Members voted to remove the auto-body repairs item from the agenda after staff said there were no MWBE firms in the county database that perform the full range of required services.

The Whitehaven clinic project is a sealed-bid construction procurement for a county health clinic on a parcel in Whitehaven near Southland Mall. Jeff Goodman, Shelby County Health Department, said the county reviewed two size options — a roughly 28,000-square-foot, two-story option and a roughly 41,000-square-foot, three-story option — and that the same set of MWBE firms and dollar categories produced a recommended goal of 27.6%. EOC staff presented the project’s MBE dollars as $4,105,177 of a $14,898,627 project and recommended the 27.6% goal; the committee approved that recommendation.

On AEDs, Jeff Goodman and Ernestine Small, the health department’s AED coordinator, described the county’s needs as a twofold service: monthly in-person inspections of AED units distributed across county buildings and a remote monitoring capability that can signal device readiness. Small said the county currently monitors roughly 125 AEDs placed across county facilities. Goodman said the only required certification for the inspection task is CPR training for personnel doing trainings; the monitoring capability can be provided through vendor software or by Wi‑Fi–capable AED units. EOC staff said the record‑keeping and monthly inspection work can be subcontracted to local firms, which supported the recommendation of a 49% MWBE subcontracting goal; the committee approved the goal.

On fiduciary services in the jail, Alicia Lindsey, chief administrative officer of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, described the county’s intent to procure a software-plus-service vendor to maintain incarcerated individuals’ account records, commissary balances and related reporting; the vendor would provide kiosks on some housing units and produce monthly reports. Lindsey and Adrienne Davie Evans, finance administrator, said the current vendor’s contract has reached its renewal limits and staff need committee approval to proceed toward an RFP. The committee approved the item as presented so staff may proceed, and members noted that any vendor would be required to undergo background checks and be familiar with on-site jail procedures.

During discussion of auto-body repair services for county vehicles, staff said no MWBE firms in the county database presently offer the full range of required services (frame pulling, aluminum work, specialized painting and welding). Committee members discussed recruiting and outreach to identify qualified MWBE firms but, citing the immediate lack of qualified MWBE vendors and an inability to set an MWBE goal, Commissioner Eban moved to remove the item from the agenda; the motion carried.

On lawn care and grass-cutting services, staff explained the county currently uses dozens of LOSB vendors and recommended designating the project for the LOSB sheltered market rather than setting an MWBE goal. Staff said the county has around 60 vendors performing grass-cutting contracts and estimated that roughly 55 of them are minority LOSB vendors; for that reason EOC recommended a 0% MWBE goal and that the procurement be handled as an LOSB project. The committee approved that approach.

On realtor services for the county land bank, Land Bank Administrator Esther Sykes described the county’s interest in issuing an RFQ to pre-qualify realtor firms for a range of property types — including industrial and commercial parcels, some with environmental issues — and to allow other county departments to use the pre-qualified pool. Staff said the particular contract size for individual transactions is uncertain but that many of the anticipated engagements would fall below the LOSB sheltered threshold. The committee voted to make the land-bank realtor procurement a targeted LOSB market project and directed staff to work with purchasing to design the RFQ.

Votes at a glance - Fiduciary services (jail inmate accounts): motion to approve proceeded; recorded yes votes include Sandra Perry and Commissioner Avant; outcome: approved; notes: staff to proceed toward issuing an RFP; vendor required to pass background checks and provide on‑site service and reporting. - Auto-body repairs: motion to remove item from the agenda, moved by Commissioner Eban and seconded by Administrator Gloucester; outcome: removed from agenda. - Grass-cutting/lawn care: motion to set 0% MWBE goal and procure as LOSB project; recorded yes votes: James Gloucester, Sandra Perry, Commissioner Avant; outcome: approved; notes: staff recommended LOSB sheltered-market approach to maximize minority LOSB participation. - Whitehaven clinic construction: motion to set 27.6% MWBE goal (EOC recommendation); recorded yes votes: James Gloucester, Sandra Perry, Commissioner Avant; outcome: approved; supporting figures: $4,105,177 MBE dollars of a $14,898,627 project. - AED/defibrillator maintenance and monitoring: motion to set 49% MWBE subcontracting goal (EOC recommendation); recorded yes votes include James Gloucester and Sandra Perry; outcome: approved; clarifications: ~125 AEDs across county facilities; requirement includes monthly in-person inspections and optional remote monitoring software; CPR training required for staff performing trainings. - Realtor services (Land Bank): motion to designate as LOSB targeted market RFQ and proceed with RFQ design; recorded yes votes: James Gloucester, Sandra Perry, Commissioner Ovett; outcome: approved; notes: staff to coordinate with purchasing.

Speakers and attributions used in this article are drawn from the meeting transcript and include only named participants; quotations are verbatim excerpts from that transcript.

The committee set its next meeting for February (date proposals discussed at the meeting). The committee also deferred approval of the minutes from meeting No. 18 and deferred policy-and-procedure updates to its next meeting by unanimous procedural motions earlier in the session.

Less-critical details about outreach, recruitment of MWBE firms for specialized services (auto-body and other trades), and the county’s internal thresholds for LOSB versus MWBE designations were discussed during the meeting and are summarized here to reflect committee concerns about vendor capacity and possible future recruitment efforts.