Council explores piggybacking on Lake City CRA study but staff warns procurement limits may require bidding

Council Member Robinson asked staff to explore whether the city could piggyback on Lake City’s community redevelopment area (CRA) contract to fund a necessity study and possible CRA boundary expansion. “I would like for this council to give Nicholas or staff the authority to look further to determine if we can piggyback off of and move forward with trying to, get see the necessity study for the extension of CRA in our city,” she said.

A staff member reported Lake City had piggybacked off the City of Sebastian’s contract and that Live Oak would need Sebastian’s permission to piggyback the same agreement. The staff member said that even with permission the city must determine whether the proposal and scope are “substantially similar” in pricing and scope; if they are not substantially similar, Live Oak would have to procure the services through its own solicitation.

Staff provided cost context: Lake City’s CRA rebudgeted for a scope of about $166,000, with the largest unit price in that package listed at $54,500 for a community redevelopment plan update. Staff said Live Oak’s work could cost similar amounts depending on scope and reminded the council that a CRA typically can fund a necessity study. “Something further with that is with the paperwork that mister Ken was able to find, it also would show that there's a precedent for CRAs to pay for all of this, not just the city,” a staff member said.

The council did not take a formal vote on authorizing a piggyback; staff said they would contact Sebastian to request permission to piggyback, compare unit prices and scopes, and determine whether Live Oak must solicit its own proposals. Staff also noted that if Live Oak moves forward with an expansion, the city will need to rewrite its CRA plan as part of the process.