Commission presses vendor, DTPW to fix streetlight outages; gives 60-day target and May 12 status report

The Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) told the County Commission that it has issued a notice to cure to the streetlight contractor after the vendor failed to meet a 95% uptime requirement under its contract, and commissioners pressed for faster repairs and clearer coordination with FDOT and FPL.

Joseph Redias, interim director of DTPW, told the commission the vendor had been under the required uptime and that DTPW had given the vendor 180 days under the cure letter to restore operations and close outstanding work orders. Redias said the department has also directed the vendor to address repair timeliness and to move more quickly on LED upgrades where state approvals allow.

Oscar Bode, CEO of Miami Dade Smart Lighting Partners, the vendor, said the vendor inherited a network with thousands of dark lights when the contract began in February 2023 and that Federal Highway (FDOT) approvals and underground damage limited what his company could legally or practically fix. "To this day, 2 years in, we are not allowed to touch an FDOT light," Bode said, adding that the vendor has upgraded about 6,000 lights that did not have underground damage and has paid for some wire-theft repairs despite that not being in the original contract.

Commissioners pressed the administration and the vendor over both the contract's performance and the speed of repairs. One commissioner said nine months of outages on a neighborhood street were "unacceptable" and requested a much shorter cure period. The chair directed DTPW to reinstate or finalize the corrective notice after the meeting and set an operational deadline: the department must have the vendor's work corrected no later than May 2, with an updated report to the commission by the May 12 meeting.

DTPW and the vendor described two main constraints: FDOT jurisdiction over roughly half of county lights and widespread underground damage and wire theft. Redias said FDOT must approve changes in its right-of-way and that DTPW has asked FDOT for specific approval processes. Redias added DTPW will direct the vendor to make repairs where life-safety is at stake and will pursue cost recovery from FDOT afterward when appropriate. Jimmy Morales, the county chief operating officer, said he would personally elevate coordination with FDOT and state officials.

Commissioners and the vendor outlined immediate steps they said would unblock much of the system: (1) treat FDOT-right-of-way items as actionable with DTPW'led claims and follow-up, (2) provide DTPW'written approval for handling underground repairs and wire-theft responses, and (3) provide additional DTPW staffing to manage the contract's workload. Oscar Bode told the commission a focused list of tasks and written approvals would allow his team to address roughly 80% of outstanding, actionable outages.

The commission did not take a formal vote on terminating the contract at the meeting; instead it issued direction to the administration: finalize and reinstate the corrective notice to the vendor, secure written approvals and agreements with FDOT and internal county staff where needed, and return with verification that the vendor has met the department's operating thresholds by May 2 and a written report by the May 12 meeting. The chair warned that contract action would follow if the vendor did not meet the accelerated requirements.

DTPW and the vendor also said DTPW will seek to recover costs from FDOT for underground repairs where the maintenance agreement and jurisdiction permit. The department said it would also expedite any third-party analyses FDOT requires, such as photometric studies or LIDAR alternatives, and would put FDOT on written notice about underground damages and the county's expectation for timely reviews.

The commission framed the matter as a life-safety issue: several members said earlier darkness after the daylight-saving time change made outages an urgent priority for children and seniors who use public spaces. Commissioners thanked staff and the vendor for progress on some lights and set the May 2 correction deadline and the May 12 status report as the next enforcement points.