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Commission approves bid waiver for new city website, amid reservations from some commissioners
Summary
The commission approved a bid-waiver contract with Apogee for website design, development and hosting after staff described integrated CMS, native mobile app and social media publishing benefits; one commissioner voted no, citing concerns about vendor municipal experience and portfolio quality.
The Cooper City Commission voted 4-1 on May 27 to approve a bid waiver and contract (PW2025-2) with Apogee Incorporated for website design, content-management services, a native mobile app and hosting.
City Manager Erwin and Communications Director Michael introduced the recommendation, saying the vendor offers a one-stop solution that links the website, a native mobile application and social-media publishing tools so staff can update content once and push it across platforms. Michael said the proposed system would allow drag-and-drop page building, mobile push notifications and ADA compliance features, which the existing site lacks.
"What AppDeGeo offered was a one-stop solution where we don't have to continue shopping for other things," Michael said, arguing the package would improve efficiency and reduce manual copy-and-paste work.
Commissioner Jeremy Katzmann said he had reviewed Apogee's portfolio and was concerned the three testimonial sites shared by the vendor showed pages similar to Cooper City's current site. "The home page is one thing, but it's also about the subpages," Katzmann said. "If the subpages aren't built out, it tells me they're not servicing it or their staff is not doing its job."
Commissioner Brian Schroeder and others said they wanted strong guarantees about termination and performance. The city manager said Apogee was unwilling to accept a long-term termination-for-convenience clause but staff negotiated a series of one-year renewals so the city would not be locked in for multiple years without review.
Commissioner Jason Smith asked whether the vendor's offering included a native app with push notifications; staff confirmed that it did. Smith also pressed staff to secure content from departments so the new site could be populated quickly; the manager said departments have been working with the communications director and that a 10- to 12-week implementation timeline was likely if content is provided.
The final roll call was: Smith, yes; Mallozzi, yes; Katzmann, yes; Schroeder, no; Mayor Curran, yes. The contract will proceed under the negotiated terms, with a year-to-year renewal structure and staff oversight of implementation.
