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Melbourne Beach to negotiate three‑year grant-writing contract with DRMP after RFQ presentations
Summary
Following presentations from three grant consultants, the commission ranked DRMP first and voted unanimously to authorize negotiations for a three‑year grant-writing contract; Calvin Giordano and GrantWorks were named alternates if talks fail.
The Melbourne Beach Town Commission authorized town staff to negotiate a three‑year contract for grant-writing and grant-management services with DRMP, following competitive presentations from three firms.
After presentations from GrantWorks, DRMP and Calvin Giordano & Associates, the clerk tabulated scores that placed DRMP first, Calvin Giordano second and GrantWorks third. The commission voted 4–0 (Commissioner Tim Reed absent) to authorize Town Attorney Ryan Knight to negotiate a three‑year agreement with DRMP and, if negotiations are unsuccessful, to move to Calvin Giordano and then GrantWorks.
DRMP’s presentation emphasized resilience-focused grant strategy, NEPA and permitting support, AI-assisted grant research to surface opportunities and regional coordination through a Merritt Island office. DRMP’s Josh Norman described tools intended to identify timely funding opportunities, combine state and federal programs for projects, and produce technical visualizations for reviewers.
GrantWorks highlighted a grant-management platform (GW 2020), account-based access for towns, and a full life‑cycle approach that includes application development, compliance, reimbursement tracking and audit support. GrantWorks representatives estimated typical hours for state grants (roughly 35–50 hours) and federal grants (roughly 60–110 hours) depending on complexity and discussed flexible pricing models and nonexclusive contracting options.
Calvin Giordano described multidisciplinary grant and administration services and offered examples including FIND and resilience grants; the firm said it provides grant administration and grant-writing support for local governments and can plug technical experts into applications when needed.
The commission discussed whether to contract with a single firm or multiple firms; ultimately members authorized negotiation with DRMP as the primary contractor and set a three‑year expected term for the agreement to give the town continuity in pursuing multi‑year funding opportunities.
Next steps: Town Attorney Ryan Knight will negotiate rates and terms for a proposed three‑year agreement with DRMP; the commission expects to review any proposed contract and return it to the commission for formal approval.
