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Commission adopts CMAR approach, approves RFQs for public‑safety and library projects
Summary
The board authorized use of the construction‑manager‑at‑risk (CMAR) procurement approach and approved RFQs for several renovation projects, adding community‑engagement scoring and reserving staff authority to amend RFQ language; votes recorded as unanimous where noted.
The Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners voted to use the construction‑manager‑at‑risk (CMAR) procurement method for a package of public‑works projects and authorized staff to issue requests for qualifications with specified edits.
Interim Administrator (speaker 4) presented item 7b, a request for qualifications to retain a construction manager at risk for the public‑safety complex and related projects. Commissioners debated whether the Stevens School shelter project should be on the RFQ list and whether procurement scoring should include community engagement criteria.
Commissioner Simpkins (speaker 9) asked that the RFQ scoring add "community engagement and community investment" so bidders demonstrate local outreach and benefit. Staff (speaker 5) said a recent Attorney General opinion had prompted counties to remove explicit minority‑participation scoring and recommended community‑engagement criteria as an alternative. "Based on that opinion counties across the state have started to remove that category," staff said, recommending the revised point system to achieve similar goals without legal risk.
Commissioners also pressed for clearer on‑the‑ground project oversight. One commissioner asked for a single construction coordinator to report to the board and track six projects; staff and counsel said a CMAR typically manages an individual project while program coordination and a facility manager remain county responsibilities.
The board approved the RFQ authorization with staff and county‑attorney authority to make necessary amendments before the RFQ posts. The commission then approved multiple individual RFQs for the Cherry Hillshire Library renovation, Havana Library renovations and expansion, and the Havana Health Center renovation, with recorded 'all in favor' votes and a 5‑0 tally noted in the record for several items.
The approvals include a staff direction to incorporate community‑engagement scoring language and to return final RFQ documents to the board for decisions tied to awards and project‑level approvals. Commissioners emphasized the need to keep tight project schedules, citing roughly a six‑to‑seven‑month window for many of the renovation tasks.
Staff will post RFQs with the agreed changes and proceed to the CMAR selection process; final contractor selections and any guaranteed maximum price (GMP) will be brought to the board for approval.
