Council delays selection of architecture and engineering consultant pool to seek more local firms

The Key Biscayne Village Council agreed to defer action on a resolution that would have approved a pool of architecture, engineering and planning consultants under RFQ 2026-03, saying they wanted to explore ways to attract and include more local, smaller firms.

At the start of the agenda item a council member recused themself because their employer has documented business relationships with firms in the staff-recommended pool. Chris Miranda summarized the procurement: the solicitation covered 12 disciplines and staff reported 37 respondents to the RFQ across those areas; a five-person committee scored and ranked proposals by discipline.

Several council members raised concerns that the recommended list was heavy on large firms and asked whether the RFQ or scoring could be adjusted to favor local or smaller firms—either by reopening the solicitation or by explicitly including small-firm preference points. Staff said they had held a pre-bid meeting, reached out to firms with whom the village had prior experience and that the village does not currently maintain a small-business preference policy.

Council reached consensus to defer the resolution and asked staff to revisit the criteria and return with revised options on Aug. 25. Staff said they would add two additional small firms in two sections to increase flexibility while the village negotiates fee schedules with selected firms.

No final consultant contracts were awarded at the meeting; the item will return to council for final authorization after any procurement modifications and rate negotiations.