Florida Bid Watch: What to Bid On This Week in Florida

Open now: Collier County Parks and Recreation Master Plan

Collier County has issued RPS 26-8690 for a Parks and Recreation Master Plan. The county's Procurement Services Division issued it at the request of the Parks and Recreation Division, and it is looking for qualified consultants to develop a comprehensive master plan for the county's parks and recreation system. The plan is meant to guide future park development, amenities and recreation programming.

Three dates to put on your calendar today: the pre-proposal meeting is Thursday, Oct 29 at 11:00 AM, questions are due Nov 11 at 5:00 PM, and proposals are due Nov 18 at 3:00 PM. Miss the first one and you are already catching up. Official notice: [link to the Collier notice pending].

On the radar: Miami-Dade A26PM01, A/E services for real estate

Miami-Dade County posted a draft of a future solicitation, A26PM01, for professional architectural and engineering services for property assessment, development, feasibility and site-specific development requirements. It is not open yet. The county labels the document a draft, subject to change, and not an advertisement, and the dates are still blank.

Here is what the draft says today. The county plans to retain five consultants under five non-exclusive, five-year agreements, with a combined estimated compensation of $5 million. The work is to evaluate county-owned and prospective properties and set site-specific development requirements, including design criteria at roughly 30% design completion. Permit-ready design is not included unless a work order asks for it, and all work is assigned through individual work orders.

The requirements are what make this one worth reading early. The prime consultant must hold county technical certification in Architecture (14.00) and Architectural Construction Management (18.00). Each of the five agreements carries a 10% SBE-A/E goal. Firms must be pre-qualified with the county, joint ventures are not allowed, and proposals go in through the county's INFORMS system. Because this is a draft, treat every number as subject to change.

Awards: Fort Lauderdale stormwater

On Oct 20, Fort Lauderdale city commissioners voted 5-0 to approve two neighborhood stormwater improvement projects, each under a Comprehensive Agreement and Design Build Agreement under Section 255.065, Florida Statutes. Riverland (item 26-0984) went to David Mancini & Sons, Inc. for $82,643,846. Melrose Manors (item 26-0985) went to Man-Con, Incorporated for $91,840,159.

Congratulations to the teams at David Mancini & Sons and Man-Con. A unanimous vote on a project of this size is a strong vote of confidence from the city. Since design and construction sit under one agreement here, the design work comes from the awarded team, so these are projects to follow rather than open opportunities.

How these get picked: CCNA in plain language

Miami-Dade A26PM01 runs under Florida's Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act, known as CCNA (Section 287.055, Florida Statutes). In plain terms, the agency announces the need, evaluates firms on their qualifications and performance data, ranks at least three, and negotiates fair compensation with the top-ranked firm first. That is why qualifications, certifications and a clean submittal matter more than a price quote. If the first negotiation fails, the agency moves to the next firm on the list.

One thing to do this week

Put all three Collier dates on your team calendar today, including tomorrow's pre-proposal meeting. Then open the Miami-Dade draft, go to sections 1.4 and 1.5, and check two things: whether your firm holds the technical certifications listed and whether your county pre-qualification is current. The draft says firms without the required certification at submittal are deemed non-compliant, and certification has its own application deadlines.

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