Miami-Dade commissioners direct mayor to negotiate split janitorial contracts for MIA after cleanliness concerns

Miami-Dade County commissioners voted to direct the county mayor to negotiate noncompetitive janitorial contracts with ABM Aviation Inc. and Flagship Aviation Services for terminal cleaning at Miami International Airport after extended public comment and debate over the airport's cleanliness and the procurement process.

The action, moved on the record by Chairman Cabrera and approved by the committee, instructs the mayor to negotiate agreements for two service areas and return a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners within 30 days. The motion also asked the mayor to consider including service-level agreements with incentives and penalties in those negotiated contracts.

Why this matters: Commissioners and airport users said cleanliness is a top complaint at Miami International Airport, which officials described as the county's primary economic engine. Commissioners said the county needs vendors that bring proven airport-specific experience, technology and management, not just longevity with the airport.

Public testimony at the meeting ran for more than three hours. Current and former janitorial employees who identified themselves as working for the incumbent bidder, C and W Services, described advancement opportunities and urged the committee to retain the company. Matt Noe, president of C and W Services, told commissioners the company has served MIA for 20 years and that the previous contract left them “underwater” after a 20% increase in passenger volume; he said, “Last year alone, we lost $3,500,000 — not $3,500,000 in profit, but $3,500,000 less than what it costs to provide these services due to a 20% increase in staff, or in passenger count.”

Representatives for competing bidders said experience at other large airports and technology-driven cleaning models would produce better outcomes at MIA. Brad Lurie, senior vice president at ABM Aviation, described ABM’s technology platform and demand-based staffing model that he said lets the company “deploy the right head count at a reduced rate” and deliver “opening day fresh every day.” ABM told the committee it increased supervisory and technology-supported staffing in other transitions and that it uses “proof of position, proof of completion, and proof of quality” tools.

Several vendor representatives argued the selection committee’s technical rankings favored ABM and Flagship over the incumbent, but that the county’s local preference points elevated the incumbent in final scoring. Commissioner questions and staff explanations confirmed the evaluation process added local preference points after the technical scores were tallied.

County procurement staff and aviation department representatives explained the previous contract was a fixed-rate model that limited flexibility for changes such as staffing adjustments and new technology deployments. Procurement chief Namrata Upal and aviation staff said lessons from the old contract informed the terms of the new solicitation, which explicitly includes flexibility for adjusting staffing and adopting technology.

Chairman Cabrera told the committee he had conducted an unannounced four-hour walk-through of the airport the previous Friday and concluded “our bathrooms and our terminals aren't necessarily where they should be.” He said he would not “extend so-called legacy contracts and vendors just because of longevity” and urged a split-award approach to bring competition and best practices to MIA.

The motion approved by the committee (as read into the record by county staff) deletes certain sections of the memorandum and directs the county mayor to negotiate janitorial contracts with ABM Aviation and Flagship Aviation Services for specified terminal areas and to return recommendations to the Board within 30 days. The motion also asked the mayor to provide a written explanation if the mayor's recommendation is not to pursue a competitive award following negotiations.

The committee did not record a roll-call vote tally in the transcript excerpt provided; the clerk announced the motion carried on the record.

Looking ahead: The mayor's negotiations must be completed and a recommendation returned to the Board of County Commissioners within 30 days under the motion’s timetable. Commissioners said they expect the negotiations to consider performance metrics, technology deployment, staff retention and enforcement mechanisms such as incentives and penalties.