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Council authorizes negotiations with top-ranked firm for new police headquarters after NAACP protests
Summary
Council voted to begin negotiations with the selection committee’s top-ranked construction manager at-risk, Wharton Smith Inc., for the Fort Myers police headquarters. NAACP speakers demanded reopening the process and binding equity commitments, and council directed staff to pursue community engagement and local-hire measures in negotiations.
The Fort Myers City Council voted June 16 to begin contract negotiations with the selection committee’s top-ranked construction manager at-risk for the new police headquarters, identified in staff materials as Wharton Smith Inc.
The selection committee’s process and results drew extended public comment and council debate. James Mowakyo of the NAACP said the selection left local minority contractors out of the opportunity and urged the city to reconsider the choice. Mike Love, Lee County NAACP Economic Committee chair, called the decision “a moral failure,” saying the firm selected offered “no apprenticeship, no job fair, no partnership with minority contractors, nothing but empty promises” and citing an estimated contract value of $140,000,000.
Staff described the two-stage procurement: written proposals produced a ranked short list, and four finalists returned for presentations. Nicole Setzer, who walked the council through the scoring, said the committee received nine proposals, brought the top four back for presentations, and that Wharton Smith was “unanimously the number 1 ranked firm” across the five-member selection committee. Setzer explained the city’s MBE policy in the solicitation is a goal rather than a mandatory threshold, and that the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) stage requires multiple subcontractor bids and gives an opportunity to press for local participation.
Council members pressed staff on enforceable community benefits. Councilmember Watson and others urged that city negotiators secure apprenticeship commitments, measurable local-hire targets and community engagement as part of the contract. Setzer said the city had shared the NAACP letter with Wharton Smith and that the firm’s representatives present in the hearing did not oppose adding community engagement during negotiations.
On a roll-call vote to authorize negotiations with the top-ranked firm, the motion carried (Councilmember Watson recorded a No vote; the remaining members voted Yes). Council direction to staff emphasized negotiating contract language to increase local subcontractor involvement and to require community engagement as part of the procurement implementation.
What’s next: Staff will enter negotiations with the top-ranked firm; the GMP stage and formal contract will follow, during which the city said it will seek subcontract bids and attempt to incorporate community-benefit elements into contracting requirements.
