Melbourne Beach commission tables decision on RFQ for building-official backup services

Melbourne Beach commissioners on June 2 reviewed four responses to a request for qualifications (RFQ) for firms to provide building-official, inspection and plan-review services on an "as-needed" or backup basis and voted to table the matter while staff follows up with bidders on missing fees and clarifies the intended scope.

The decision came at a special meeting called to rank four companies that responded to the RFQ. Commissioners and staff spent most of the session discussing whether the RFQ should be handled under Florida Statute 287.055 (the Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act, CCNA) so the town could hold multiple consultant contracts, or remain a price-considered RFQ that could yield a single year-long agreement.

The issue mattered in part because an addendum issued May 6 removed references to the CCNA and made price part of the evaluation, a change commissioners said affects whether…