Commissioners table transit contract award after concerns over RFP pricing

St. Lucie County commissioners on Tuesday voted to table action on a request that would have authorized staff to negotiate a contract with the top-ranked proposer for the county's public transit services, citing a large price gap among bidders and requests for more written backup.

The item (consent item H-10H2) concerned a competitive procurement that selection staff ranked with MV/MB Transportation as the top firm after a scoring and in-person presentation process. Transit Director Adolfo Covelli told the board that the procurement notice was published Feb. 9, 2025, that 170 firms were notified, 50 RFP documents were distributed and seven proposals were received, and that the selection committee of five ranked the finalists after presentations.

Covelli said the system has grown since the previous RFP five years ago and that the county now operates three service zones with 11 vehicles and expects the contracted service to provide roughly 80,000 trips this fiscal year. He also described scoring factors used by the committee: plans and programs (35 points), cost (20 points), experience (20 points), and other categories totaling 100 points.

Commissioners and members of the public focused on a wide cost spread among proposers. Commissioner Clasby said the backup materials on the agenda packet did not show bidder pricing and asked for more time to review. Covelli and purchasing staff confirmed cost accounted for 20% of the evaluation and said the top-ranked firm was the third-cheapest bidder; one commissioner and a member of the public described a roughly $13 million gap over the contract term between some proposals.

Jennifer Hill, representing purchasing, warned the board that the procurement is heavily grant-funded and that grant reviewers scrutinize whether the county followed its purchasing process. "The safest route is to follow the process through, to not potentially jeopardize a very heavily grant funded program," Hill said, adding that if the board declined to approve the top-ranked proposer without a documented reason, the county might need to restart the procurement and risk grant funding.

After discussion, Commissioner Clasby moved to table the consent item to give commissioners time to review cost information; the motion passed on roll call 3-2 with Commissioners Lee, Lawrie and Clasby voting yes and Commissioner Townsend and Chair Fowler voting no. The county administrator and transit staff said the current contract with the incumbent ended June 30 and has been extended for three months; staff said they can extend service up to six months with appropriate notice while the board reviews the item.

Board action and next steps: the board's vote to table preserves staff authority to continue negotiations and to pursue contract extensions as allowed by the current contract; staff said it will provide additional pricing backup to commissioners and said it can extend the incumbent agreement if needed while the board continues review.

Ending: The item will return to the board for further consideration once commissioners and staff have had time to review the pricing details. Transit staff emphasized the procurement's reliance on grant funding and the selection committee's emphasis on experience and maintenance capacity as reasons for its top ranking.