Hillsborough County opens non-mandatory pre-bid for emergency shelter staffing contract

Hillsborough County held a non-mandatory pre-bid conference on March 3 for ITB-26-0000131, the emergency shelter staffing solicitation, outlining scope, minimum qualifications and submission rules ahead of the March 27 bid close. The county said the resulting contract would run three years and provided an estimated project amount of $374,610.

The county’s procurement staff and emergency operations personnel told prospective bidders the contract is intended to augment county sheltering capacity during emergency activations and declared disasters, covering general shelter staff, shelter managers and separate pet-shelter staff. "So pretty much what we're here to do is find a vendor that can bridge a gap that we have here in Hillsborough County," said Sarah Patron, procurement coordinator and project manager. The solicitation assumes staffing for the county's largest shelter at 44 positions (22 per 12-hour shift) with one shelter manager per shift, though staff said deployed numbers will be adjusted case-by-case.

Why it matters: the county requires bidders to meet minimum qualifications before award. Paragraph 1.3 of the solicitation lists experience requirements and certifications (the solicitation references FEMA ICS courses IS-100, IS-200, IS-700 and IS-800). Staff emphasized those minimums are "the line in the sand" for evaluation: bidders who do not meet them risk disqualification.

Bidders were told all proposal submissions must be made through the county's electronic bidding portal; emailed or in-person submissions will not be accepted. Technical support for the portal (Bonfire/UNIA solutions) and the vendor help line were provided. Written questions submitted through the portal will be reviewed and, if necessary, resolved by addendum. The county set the last day for questions at March 17 and said the formal bid close is March 27 at 2 p.m.

A correction forthcoming: attendees flagged a discrepancy in the pricing spreadsheet for years two and three (hour lines for some positions were reduced incorrectly). Procurement staff acknowledged the error and said they will replace the pricing schedule in the portal and issue an addendum before bids are due.

Staff also reviewed operational expectations and limits: contractors must be able to scale staffing up or down depending on incident size, coordinate directly with the county EOC and ESF teams, and operate under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the PETS Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act. The solicitation includes insurance and invoicing rules, and procurement staff reiterated that indemnification language in the contract will not be changed.

On certain personnel requirements, staff confirmed paragraph 1.3.4.3 lists a valid Florida driver's license as a minimum requirement for staff; vendors were advised to file a written question if they seek clarification or a waiver. Procurement also confirmed that required county post-award training is not an unpaid activation cost: the county will pay training time outside of emergency activation at a non-activation rate.

The county said it will evaluate low bidders for responsibility, including prior experience and references, and will use paragraph 5.2 (change orders/modifications) to adjust contract hours or scope if multiple activations exhaust the originally estimated hours. Pet-shelter duties (feeding, waste management and separate housing for non-service animals) were discussed; the pet-resources team (ESF-17) coordinates pet shelters and about 16 of the county's general-population sites are pet-friendly.

Next steps: vendors were urged to submit written questions via the procurement portal by March 17; procurement staff will post any addenda and the corrected pricing sheet there. The county closed the session and reminded attendees of an additional in-person pre-bid session scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at the same location.