Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: George Tablack
Department: Finance and Administrative Services Division: Purchasing
Information
Requested Action
title
A. MOTION TO APPROVE Agreement between Broward County and Carollo Engineers, Inc., for Continuing Consultant Services for Water and Wastewater Services, Category 1: Water Treatment Systems, Request for Proposals (RFP) No. PNC2127317P1, for an initial three-year term with a maximum not-to-exceed amount of $3,000,000, and authorize the Director of Purchasing to renew the agreement for up to two one-year terms, for a five-year maximum not-to-exceed amount of $5,000,000, and authorize the Mayor and Clerk to execute same.
ACTION: (T-11:38 AM) Approved.
VOTE: 9-0.
B. MOTION TO APPROVE Agreement between Broward County and Hazen and Sawyer, P.C., for Continuing Consultant Services for Water and Wastewater Services, Category 2: Wastewater Treatment and Transmission Systems, Request for Proposals (RFP) No. PNC2127317P1, for an initial three-year term with a maximum not-to-exceed amount of $3,000,000, and authorize the Director of Purchasing to renew the agreement for up to two one-year terms, for a five-year maximum not-to-exceed amount of $5,000,000, and authorize the Mayor and Clerk to execute same.
ACTION: (T-11:38 AM) Approved.
VOTE: 9-0.
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Why Action is Necessary
Motions A-B: In accordance with Broward County Procurement Code Section 21.47(a), Award and Execution Authority, the Board shall make all awards, and authorize the execution of the associated contracts, with a value of more than $500,000, inclusive of the value of any renewals or extensions.
What Action Accomplishes
Provides consultant agreement(s) for Category 1 - Water Treatment Systems and Category 2 - Wastewater Treatment and Transmission Systems for Water and Wastewater Services.
Goal Related Icon(s)
☐County Commission
☐Go Green
☐MAP Broward
Previous Action Taken
None.
Summary Explanation/Background
THE PURCHASING DIVISION AND THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT/WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICES RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTIONS.
The Office of Economic and Small Business Development (OESBD) established a County Business Enterprise (CBE) participation goal of 25% for each category agreement. Carollo Engineers, Inc. committed to 25% CBE participation for Category 1. Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. committed to 25% CBE participation for Category 2. The respective participation plans were reviewed and approved by OESBD (Exhibit 3).
If approved, these agreements will provide continuing consultant engineering services for Water and Wastewater Services across two separate categories; specifically, Category 1: Water Treatment Systems with Carollo Engineers, Inc., and Category 2: Wastewater Treatment and Transmission Systems with Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. Both agreements obligate the relevant consultants to provide services that include pre-design, design, permitting, providing bid/award assistance, and performing construction management services related to the rehabilitation, modification, expansion, addition, and/or repair of the existing County-owned and operated water treatment system and County-owned and operated wastewater treatment and transmission systems, respectively.
The consultant services are covered by Florida Statute Section 287.055, Consultants’ Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA).
RFP No. PNC2127317P1 was advertised on January 2, 2024, and, at the time of submittal deadline on January 26, 2024, four firms submitted proposals in response. Both categories received three submittals each.
On March 20, 2024, a Combination Initial and Final Evaluation Committee (EC) meeting was held. The EC determined that all firms were both responsive and responsible to the RFP requirements. In accordance with Broward County Procurement Code Section 21.44, Procedures for CCNA Services, whenever a CCNA procurement is conducted through a RFP, RLI, or RFQ, the EC shall establish a “shortlist” of vendors for further consideration of award of the solicitation, unless the Director of Purchasing determines that shortlisting would not be in the best interest of the County. The EC did not shortlist beyond the three proposing firms for each Category. After presentations, evaluation, scoring, and ranking, the EC named Carollo Engineers, Inc. as the first-ranked firm for Category 1 and Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. as the first-ranked firm for Category 2.
The EC’s proposed recommendation of ranking was posted on the Purchasing Division website from March 26 - 29, 2024, which provided an opportunity for any proposer or interested party to present any new or additional information regarding the responsibility of the proposer. No additional information was submitted within this timeframe.
The EC’s final recommendation of ranking was posted on the Purchasing Division website from April 1 - 5, 2024, which provided time for any aggrieved proposer to file a formal protest. No formal protest was received.
There were no vendor objections, protests, or pulls from the Board for this RFP ranking. On April 6, 2024, in accordance with Broward County Procurement Code Section 21.42(k), Procedures for RFPs, RLIs and RFQs, the ranking of the qualified firms became final, and Purchasing proceeded with negotiations with each first-ranked firm.
On April 10, 2024, a negotiation meeting was held with Carollo Engineers, Inc. for Category 1. This meeting was attended by representatives from Carollo Engineers, Inc., Water and Wastewater Services, the Office of the County Attorney, and the Purchasing Division.
After negotiations, there was one firm that had a multiplier negotiated over 3.0 and an operating margin of over 10%. Carollo Engineers, Inc. (Prime) has a multiplier of 3.07 and an operating margin of 12.28%. Purchasing’s experience with national firms that provide consultant services related to water and wastewater treatment includes higher overhead and fringe percentages due to the specialty and expertise. Additionally, the sub-consulting firm, McCafferty Brinson Consulting, Inc., has flat rates negotiated instead of utilizing the safe harbor rates. Purchasing determined that the flat rates proposed by McCafferty Brinson Consulting, Inc. are competitive and reflective of the firms’ extensive experience and continuity in serving Broward County. The information was provided to the County Auditor’s Office (Exhibit 4).
On April 9, 2024, a negotiation meeting was held with Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. for Category 2. This meeting was attended by representatives from Hazen and Sawyer, P.C., Water and Wastewater Services, the Office of the County Attorney, and the Purchasing Division.
After negotiations, there were three firms (Prime or sub-consultants) that either had a multiplier negotiated over 3.0 or an operating margin of over 10%: Hazen and Sayer, P.C. (Prime) with a multiplier of 3.07 and operating margin of 10.3%.; sub-consultant, Craven Thompson & Associates, Inc., with an operating margin of 14%; and sub-consultant, Metco Services Southeast, LLC, with an operating margin of 11.5%. Purchasing’s experience with national firms that provide consultant services related to water and wastewater treatment includes higher overhead and fringe percentages due to the specialty and expertise. The information was provided to the County Auditor’s Office (Exhibit 5).
The agreements include the following deviations from Broward County’s template agreement:
a) Section 3.6.4 - Work Authorizations: Revised language from $4,000,000 to “exceed the statutory limit of basic construction services”.
b) Section 5.1 - Amount and Method of Compensation: Revised language to allow funds that are not expended during the initial term of the agreement may be expended during either extension term provided that the collective total of all Work Authorizations shall not exceed the $5,000,000.
c) Section 11.7 - Indemnification of County: Added language to include that, pursuant to Section 558.0035, Florida Statutes, a design professional may not be held individually liable or negligent within the course and scope of agreement due to certain statutorily-imposed conditions.
If approved, each agreement’s initial term will begin on the date of award and terminate three years from that date.
Additional supporting documentation provided to the EC regarding this procurement can be found on the Purchasing Division website at <https://www.broward.org/Purchasing/Pages/Repository.aspx>.
Source of Additional Information
Robert E. Gleason, Director, Purchasing Division, 954-357-6070
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
Each agreement not-to-exceed amount is $5,000,000 over a potential five-year period. The Funds estimated for the current Fiscal Year are included in the current Fiscal Year budget.
Requisition No. WWE0001500