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Jupiter council approves contract award despite dispute over RFQ and a 33% rate increase
Summary
Council approved a professional‑services contract under an RFQ after debate over procurement rules; Mayor Jim Kurecki objected to the process that prevents price from being scored after learning a long‑time contractor increased its hourly rate by 33 percent, but staff and the town attorney said state law limited the town’s options.
The Jupiter Town Council voted 4–1 on March 3 to approve a contract award tied to professional services after an extended debate over procurement procedure and an apparent 33 percent hourly‑rate increase by a longtime contractor.
Mayor Jim Kurecki, who dissented on the motion, said he was troubled that the town’s evaluation criteria did not include cost and that an incumbent consultant had raised its hourly rate sharply. "When the price was going up 33 percent, I thought that's unreasonable," Kurecki said.
Council members and staff responded that the selection was conducted under a Request for Qualifications consistent with Florida law for certain professions (the Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act), which generally prohibits scoring price in the initial qualifications ranking. The town attorney explained the statute covers architects, landscape architects, surveyors and engineers and limits how costs can be factored into selection.
Councilors discussed options for future procurement reform, including listing multiple qualified firms from an RFQ pool to preserve later competition on cost. Staff warned that delaying emergency or short‑term contracts could leave the town out of compliance with service obligations; staff said the prior hourly rate had been $75 and had been in effect since 2023, necessitating an expedited award to avoid service gaps.
On the motion to approve Resolution 26‑26 (contract award), the council voted 4 in favor and 1 opposed (Mayor Kurecki). Several councilors said they supported revisiting purchasing policy in future sessions to allow more competitive cost review where legally permissible.
Outcome: Resolution 26‑26 approved; staff will proceed with the contract and return with suggested procurement policy changes for council consideration.
