Sean Donahue, Martin County General Services Director, presented an unsolicited public–private partnership proposal from Building Tomorrow Schools Inc. for a 114,000-square-foot maintenance and operations facility on a county-owned 30-acre parcel at Waterside Way. Donahue said the proposer submitted the required $25,000 evaluation fee and that the project delivery is projected for July 2027.

Donahue provided a cost breakdown the proposer supplied: roughly $6,000,000 for soft costs and design, $63,000,000 for construction and site work, and about $5,000,000 for fixed furniture and equipment, for a total project price of approximately $74,000,000. The proposal outlined three financing approaches: full financing by the proposer, partial financing with a buy-down option, or county self-financing. Donahue said staff recommends accepting the unsolicited proposal and using consultant analysis to evaluate viability; an alternative would be to initiate a public solicitation under state procurement rules.

Commissioner Vargas pressed staff on how the county would attract competing bids for a project of this size, saying repeatedly, "It's a lot of money," and urging advertising on the Florida Administrative Register and other platforms so more proposers could respond. Staff and other commissioners explained the expedited unsolicited process allows the county to accept other unsolicited proposals during evaluation but does not permit advertising for proposals under the expedited route; public solicitation through posting (minimum 21 days) would be an alternative but could add time.

Staff clarified this item is the first of a three-meeting process: if the board accepts the first-step motion, consultants (financial and architectural) will evaluate the proposal and staff will return to the board at the second meeting (staff identified Feb. 24 as the soonest return date). Commissioners discussed setting a finite cutoff for accepting other unsolicited proposals so proposers have pricing certainty.

A motion to accept the expedited unsolicited proposal, allow other unsolicited proposals during evaluation, and authorize consultants to analyze the proposal (using the proposer's $25,000 fee) with a return to the board at the second meeting passed by voice vote. The chair announced the motion carried 3–1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Staff will return with consultant findings and, if the board authorizes, present a comprehensive agreement at a subsequent meeting.

The commission's discussion emphasized fiscal caution, the need to compare alternatives if other proposals arrive, and the timeline trade-offs between expedited review (no advertising) and public solicitation (advertise and allow competitive bids).