Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Stephen Farmer (Acting Director)
Department: Finance and Administrative Services Division: Purchasing
Information
Requested Action
title
MOTION TO APPROVE final ranking of qualified firms for Request for Proposals (RFP) No. PNC2128931P1, General Planning Consultant Services for the Port Everglades Department. The ranked firms are: 1 - Moffatt & Nichol, Inc.; 2 - Bowman Consulting Group, LTD., Inc.; 3 - Volkert, Inc.; 4 - BEA Architects, Inc.; 5 - GHD Inc. dba GHD Consulting Inc.; and 6 - Hatch Associates Consultants, Inc.
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Why Action is Necessary
In accordance with Broward County Procurement Code, Section 21.42.(j), Procedures for RFPs, RLIs, and RFQs, if an objection or protest has been filed with respect to an Evaluation Committee’s ranking, the ranking must be submitted to the Board for final approval. The Board, by majority vote, may (1) accept the ranking as final; (2) reject all responses to the solicitation; or (3) direct the Evaluation Committee to reconvene to consider any new or additional information the Board directs the Evaluation Committee to consider. In addition, the Board may request presentations by the ranked vendors and may, by supermajority vote, re-rank those vendors in a final ranking.
What Action Accomplishes
Approves the Evaluation Committee’s recommendation of the final ranking of qualified firms.
Goal Related Icon(s)
☐County Commission
☐Go Green
☐MAP Broward
Previous Action Taken
None.
Summary Explanation/Background
THE PURCHASING DIVISION AND THE PORT EVERGLADES DEPARTMENT RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
The Office of Economic and Small Business Development (OESBD) established a County Business Enterprise (CBE) goal of 25% for this solicitation. BEA Architects, Inc. (BEA) and Moffatt & Nichol, Inc. (Moffatt) committed to 25% CBE participation; Bowman Consulting Group, LTD., Inc. (Bowman) and GHD Consulting Inc. (GHD) committed to 26% CBE participation; and Hatch Associates Consultants, Inc. (Hatch) and Volkert, Inc. (Volkert) committed to 27% CBE participation, which have been reviewed and approved by OESBD (Exhibit 3).
This solicitation is to engage up to two qualified firms to provide comprehensive general port planning services to support project-specific planning, studies, and analysis essential for the development, coordination, and implementation of Port Everglades initiatives. Under the continuing services agreements, the selected firms will provide professional planning support, including engineering, architectural, and specialty consultant services, including on call/onsite staff support and coordination. The Evaluation Committee ranked Moffatt and Bowman as the top two firms to perform these services.
The RFP was advertised on January 24, 2025, and, at the time of submittal deadline on March 6, 2025, six firms submitted proposals: BEA, Bowman, GHD, Hatch, Moffatt and Volkert.
On July 18, 2025, the Director of Purchasing issued a memorandum to the Evaluation Committee regarding determination of responsiveness and responsibility. Based on the solicitation requirements and each firm’s response, BEA, Bowman, GHD, Hatch, Moffatt and Volkert were recommended to be evaluated as responsive to the solicitation’s requirements.
On July 29, 2025, an Initial Evaluation Committee meeting was held. The Evaluation Committee (EC) determined that all six 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 Evaluation Committee shall establish a “shortlist” of vendors, unless the Director of Purchasing determines that shortlisting would not be in the best interest of the County. During the Initial EC meeting of July 29, 2025, the EC evaluated the responses and shortlisted all six firms to advance to final evaluation, which would include vendor presentations, Question-and-Answer period, numerical scoring by the EC, and ranking.
On August 15, 2025, a Final EC meeting was held. After presentations, evaluation, scoring and ranking, the EC named Moffatt as the first-ranked firm; Hatch as the second-ranked firm; Volkert as the third-ranked firm; Bowman as the fourth-ranked firm; BEA as the fifth-ranked firm; and GHD as the sixth-ranked firm (Exhibit 1).
The EC’s proposed recommendation of ranking was posted on the Purchasing Division website from August 21 - 26, 2025, which provided an opportunity for any proposer or interested party to present any new or additional information regarding the responsibility of the proposers.
On August 26, 2025, the Director of Purchasing received a timely filed objection letter on behalf of the third-ranked firm, Volkert. The objection letter claimed that 1) a member of the EC had a conflict of interest or the appearance of; and 2) there was a risk of an inadvertent Cone of Silence violation (Exhibit 4).
On October 3, 2025, the Director of Purchasing issued an objection response, partially upholding the objection; the response stated the EC rankings would be disregarded, and the County would appoint a new three-member EC to score and rank vendor responses (Exhibit 5).
On January 28, 2026, a reconvened Final EC meeting was held. After presentations, evaluation, scoring and ranking, the EC named Moffatt as the first-ranked firm; Bowman as the second-ranked firm (Exhibit 2).
The EC’s final recommendation of ranking was posted on the Purchasing Division website from February 6 - 13, 2026, which provided an opportunity for any aggrieved proposer to file a protest. No protest was received.
Additional supporting documentation provided to the EC for this procurement can be found on the Purchasing Division website at: <http://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
This motion has no fiscal impact.
Requisition No. PAD0000891