Port St. Joe picks firm to administer $25 million wastewater grant

The Port St. Joe City Commission on May 5 unanimously approved hiring Conrad Resnick to administer a $25,000,000 wastewater grant for the city's wastewater treatment project.

Miss Meyer moved to accept the proposal and Commissioner Hough seconded the motion; the commission approved the selection by voice vote, recorded as unanimous. Staff said the next step is to obtain approval from the state Commerce office and finalize the contract before initiating formal grant administration work.

The recommendation followed a tight scoring process: staff reported 15 proposals, with three finalists scoring very closely. One commissioner who commented during the discussion said he had researched the finalists and recommended moving forward. "I've done a little bit of research on them," the commissioner said, arguing the selected firm had relevant experience administering large grant programs.

Commissioners said they will return with contract documents for review and seek Commerce approval as directed. No dollar amount for consultant fees beyond the grant administration line was specified in the public discussion.

The commission's action was procedural: it selected an administrator for the grant and authorized staff to pursue contract approvals. The commission did not vote on construction contracts or on awarding construction bids at this meeting; those actions will require separate approvals once grant administration is in place.

Staff indicated they will report back to the commission as Commerce responds and as a contract is negotiated and executed.