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Okeechobee County commissioners approve FEMA, FDACS grants, authorize negotiations with Safe Built for building services
Summary
At their Nov. 4 meeting, Okeechobee County commissioners approved a consent package including a FEMA performance grant, FDACS mosquito‑control funding, renewal of the county medical director contract, two right‑of‑way abandonments and authorized negotiations with Safe Built Florida for building department services.
Okeechobee County commissioners on Nov. 4 approved a consent agenda that included federal and state grants, a medical‑director contract renewal and a procurement step to begin negotiations with the top‑ranked firm for building department services.
The board approved a Federal Emergency Management Performance Grant contract for $51,343 and adopted related budget adjustments. Commissioners also authorized acceptance of a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services State Financial Assistance Recipient Agreement for $69,587.50 to support integrated mosquito control and approved a budget amendment to appropriate $30,696 in unanticipated FDACS funding. The consent package included warrants totaling $3,370,462.11 and the second and final one‑year renewal of the county fire rescue medical director agreement with Dr. Adelberg for $24,000.
Why it matters: the grants fund public‑safety and mosquito‑control operations the county relies on year‑round; the medical‑director renewal maintains clinical oversight of fire‑rescue medical services.
The board also moved on land‑use requests and procurement. Planning staff presented two right‑of‑way abandonment petitions: Resolution 2025‑70 to abandon an alley in Riverside Park and Resolution 2025‑71 to abandon an east‑side portion of a street right‑of‑way in Okeechobee Park. After public hearings with no speakers, commissioners approved both abandonments unanimously.
On procurement, the county described results from a building‑services RFQ that produced two proposals received Oct. 15. The evaluation committee scored Safe Built Florida first (259 of 300 points) and Willdan second (200 of 300). The board authorized the county administrator to begin negotiations with the top‑ranked firm, Safe Built, and to proceed to the second firm if negotiations fail, consistent with the county procurement policy. The chair called and the board approved the motion to start negotiations unanimously.
Other administrative items: the board approved a fee waiver of $1,698.63 for the Agri Civic Center to host the annual Health and Safety Expo on Jan. 31, 2026, and forwarded a nomination to the governor recommending Alexandria (Alex) Tiernia for a Children Services Council vacancy with a term expiring 03/01/2029.
The meeting included routine reports: an 11th amendment extending an Ajax Building Company contract to Dec. 31, 2025, updates on impact‑fee work tied to the Nov. 18 meeting, completion of 492 miles of mosquito spraying and a multiagency tabletop exercise for a simulated large‑scale incident.
The board adjourned after routine announcements; no additional formal actions were taken at that time.
