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Commission renews Kimley‑Horn contracts for a year despite criticism; staff ordered to pursue RFP and exit strategy
Summary
The commission approved a task order and a one‑year renewal for Kimley‑Horn (4–1 votes) after a commissioner said the firm had conflicts and produced flawed recommendations for the city’s sewer system. Commissioners demanded an exit plan and a competitive procurement process to replace the firm over the coming year.
The St. Pete Beach City Commission on Tuesday approved a task order and an amended one‑year renewal of Kimley‑Horn’s continuing professional services contract, each by 4–1 votes, while several commissioners and members of the public criticized the firm’s prior work and urged a plan to move away from reliance on a single consultant.
Commissioner Resznicki led the criticism, pointing to years of Kimley‑Horn involvement on sewer system planning and to recent storm-related failures that have exposed system vulnerabilities. He asked staff for an explicit “exit strategy” and for procurement action to reduce the city’s dependence on a single firm.
“There is a way for us to remove ourselves from this relationship,” Resznicki said during debate, adding that the city has spent “millions of dollars” with the consultant and that staff must present a plan to unshackle the city from a sole historic vendor.
Staff said the immediate renewals were necessary to keep projects on schedule — one vote approved a task order for bid support services on the Gulf Boulevard Phase 2 utility undergrounding project, and the second extended Kimley‑Horn’s continuing contract for another year to preserve continuity during procurement. Several commissioners said they supported a short renewal only as a pragmatic step while staff issues an RFP and identifies replacement vendors.
City Manager and Public Works staff were directed to prepare a procurement timeline and an “exit strategy” to transfer data and services to new contractors. Council members asked for a report on amounts paid to the firm and for a plan to export and validate historical data so another vendor can be engaged.
Ending The task order and contract renewal passed 4–1. Staff will issue an RFP and return with a timeline and plan for reducing reliance on any single consultant; commissioners said they expect staff to brief the council on the exit strategy and procurement steps by the next meeting or in a special report.
