Council introduces Samson Edwards as public works director; staff flags Baker Tilly RFP redlines

A council member introduced Samson Edwards as the city’s new public works director and the council recorded a motion and second to confirm the appointment.

The presenter said Edwards has prior experience in nearby local government and that the replacement relieves some workload from the previous director. A council member moved to approve the confirmation; another seconded. The motion and second were recorded, but the transcript does not show a roll-call vote or final tally in the provided excerpt. The item appears as position 2026-31 on the council docket.

Separately, the council discussed the Baker Tilly audit RFP. Staff reported that the RFP response included significant redlines that altered requested terms. Staff recommended rebidding: the submitted redlines would, in staff’s view, limit contractor exposure for claims (proposing liability limited to gross negligence, fraud or willful misconduct), change choice-of-law and venue language away from Suwannee County to Duval, and change public-records and record-transfer provisions. City staff said they prepared a response letter and suggested removing or revising unacceptable contractor redlines and reissuing the RFP so the city obtains a firm that will perform a focused audit of policies and procedures rather than rewriting them.

Staff identified particular sections of concern including indemnity, choice-of-law/venue, and public-records transfer language, and recommended that the RFP be rebuilt and rebid to get proposals that conform to the city’s requirements. The council did not adopt a final procurement decision in the transcript excerpt; staff will proceed with next steps noted in the packet.