Virginia Key advisory board asks city manager to include board members in Marine Stadium RFP review, and seeks preview of top-ranked proposer

The Virginia Key Advisory Board voted unanimously Feb. 25 to ask the city manager to include at least one member of the advisory board on the evaluation committee reviewing proposals for the Marine Stadium request for proposals and to request that the top-ranked proposer be presented to the board before the City Commission considers the item.

Board members discussed a publicly posted RFP for a private-sector partner to renovate, manage and program Marine Stadium and the adjacent FlexPark parking lot. "It's under a cone of silence, so there's not much I can say about it," board member Andrew Frey said, but he confirmed the RFP was published in late January and is available on the city's procurement website. Frey said an on-site meeting for interested parties was held and that the procurement portal will carry addenda and answers to questions.

Board members asked how the city would evaluate proposals. Frey said the city manager will assemble an evaluation committee at his discretion and that the RFP does not require public presentations of each respondent; instead, the first-ranked proposer would be recommended to the commission and would make a public presentation at that time.

Board member Gary Milano moved that the board recommend the city manager include a board representative on the evaluation committee; Milano named Vincent Richter as the board's preference. The motion, seconded by Steven Liner, passed unanimously in a roll-call vote. Several board members then volunteered as alternate candidates in case additional seats on the committee were available.

Separately, board member Lynn Lewis moved — and the board unanimously approved — a recommendation that the City Commission be directed to have the top-ranked proposer appear before the Virginia Key Advisory Board prior to the commission's consideration. City Attorney's Office attorney Jackie Lorenzo told the board it may formally pass a resolution recommending the city manager place a board member on the committee, and that the board's recommendations are advisory rather than mandatory.

Board members pressed for greater transparency around process and timelines. Frey said the written RFP's timetable was prepared with roughly a 60-day submission window and that the board was told of an April deadline; board members later discussed April 14 as a likely due date for proposals. A member of the public and several board members requested the procurement posting and any addenda be shared with the board; staff said the procurement portal is the authoritative source and offered to resend a draft that had been circulated in September 2024.

The discussion also touched on related planning work. Frey said the consultant Civitas was paid a planning fee — he cited a figure of $900,000 — to examine parking and related site planning northeast and west of the stadium; the board asked planning staff to provide the Civitas report at a future meeting.

Members repeatedly noted that procurement rules limit what can be publicly discussed during the cone of silence and that any formal presentation to the board would likely take place after a proposer is ranked and before or when the commission considers the recommendation.

Other items discussed at the meeting included project updates (restroom rehabilitation, boat-ramp mitigation and trail completion) and broader park matters, but the Marine Stadium RFP and the two board motions on representation and a preview of the top-ranked proposer were the meeting's principal actions.

The board adopted the Jan. 28, 2025 minutes by unanimous vote earlier in the meeting and later adjourned by unanimous voice vote.