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Commissioners postpone $750,000 master space plan; schedule workshop to narrow scope and fees
Summary
After a lengthy debate about cost, usefulness and staff workload, the Charlotte County Board postponed approval of a roughly $750,000 master space plan contract and asked staff to convene a workshop to consider a phased approach, starting with a data-collection phase estimated at $186,000.
Charlotte County commissioners on June 24 postponed action on a proposed master space plan contract, directing staff to schedule a workshop to refine the project scope, consider phased contracting and examine whether in‑house work or smaller, department-level studies could reduce cost.
Commissioner Chris Constance framed the debate, saying he was “having a hard time” with what he described as the consultant “march” and with the approximately three-quarter‑of‑a‑million-dollar price tag for a countywide plan. Commissioners expressed concerns about staff workload during hurricane recovery, the value of prior plans and whether a full-county study was the right near-term priority.
Travis Purdue, facilities director, told the board the existing strategic master space plan was outdated (last completed around 2017) and that the new study would focus on department-level “levels of service,” reconciling building inventories, and forecasting growth to lay out a roadmap for county facilities. County purchasing staff confirmed phase 1 — the data‑gathering component — was isolated in the proposed contract and estimated at about $186,000.
Commissioner Mike Doherty and others said they prefer a phased approach: authorize phase 1 (data collection) on an hourly not-to-exceed or schedule-of-values basis, then return to the board before committing to the full contract. Commissioner Constance and other commissioners suggested an alternate approach: start with a small number of high-priority departments to test the process.
After discussion the board voted unanimously to postpone the full contract approval and asked staff to convene a workshop as soon as possible to review the scope, phasing and fee structure. Commissioners emphasized that any contract returned for signature should include a clear phase-based authorization and that phase 1 should be tightly scoped so the county can assess consultant methods and staff time impacts.
What happens next: staff will draft a workshop agenda that outlines phased deliverables, potential hourly or schedule-of-values billing for phase 1, and options to limit in-person site visits to a prioritized inventory of buildings. Commissioners discussed a July–August timetable for a special workshop if administration can assemble the materials quickly.
