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Leon County
Board of County Commissioners Agenda Item#12 January 27, 2026 |
| To: | Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board |
| From: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator |
| Title: | Authorization to Negotiate Professional Services Continuing Supply Agreements with Multiple Firms |
| Review and Approval: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator |
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Department/Division Review and Approval: |
Ken Morris, Assistant County Administrator Nawfal Ezzagaghi, Assistant County Administrator Brent Pell, Director, Public Works Charles Wu, Director, Engineering Services |
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Lead Staff/ Project Team: |
Stephen Kelly, Chief of Building Engineering Melanie Hooley, Director, Division of Purchasing Tim Barden, Administrative Services Manager |
Statement of Issue:
This item seeks Board authorization for the County Administrator, or designee, to negotiate Professional Services (which includes Building Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Fire Protection Engineering, and Landscape Architect) Continuing Supply agreements with multiple firms.
Fiscal Impact:
This item has a fiscal impact. This item has been budgeted, and adequate funding is available in each individual Capital Improvement project requiring professional services.
Staff Recommendation:
Option #1: Authorize the County Administrator, or designee, to negotiate and execute Professional Services (which includes Building Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Fire Protection Engineering, and Landscape Architect) Continuing Supply agreements (Attachments #1, #2, and #3), and any amendments thereto, subject to legal review by the County Attorney.
Report and Discussion
Background:
This item seeks Board authorization for the County Administrator, or designee, to negotiate Professional Services (which includes Building Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Fire Protection Engineering, and Landscape Architect) Continuing Supply agreements with multiple firms. The agreements will provide professional services for design, technical construction documents, construction administration and related services for all Capital Improvement projects and incidental maintenance emergency repair projects as required.
In order to provide maintenance, renovation, and construction of County buildings and components, the County requires the professional services of licensed design professionals for proper planning of projects that require site, civil, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical expertise. These architectural and engineering services are frequently referred to as “A & E Services” and support the County on a continuing supply basis. The current A & E services contracts were competitively solicited in 2021 and expire in March 2026.
The acquisition of architectural and engineering (“A & E”) services is governed by Section 287.055, Florida Statutes, commonly known as the Consultant’s Competitive Negotiation Act (“CCNA”). Under the CCNA, the County may enter into continuing contracts with qualified professional firms through the required selection and negotiation process. Continuing serves contracts are generally utilized for small construction projects and professional/technical assessments or studies.
Analysis:
To establish continuing supply contracts for professional architectural and engineering services, the County issued multiple Requests for Proposals (RFPs) in accordance with applicable procurement requirements. The solicitations were advertised locally and distributed through the County’s automated procurement system to 9,438 vendors for each solicitation. The following outlines the RFPs issued and the number of responsive proposals received for each service category:
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Service Category |
RFP Number |
Responsive Proposals Received |
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Architectural / Interior Design |
BC-2025-038 |
9 |
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Building Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, and Fire Protection Engineering |
BC-2025-040 |
2 |
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Landscape Architect |
BC-2025-041 |
4 |
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Since this is a continuing services solicitation under CCNA and does not include project bid amounts, respondents were requested to identify certified Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs), based on estimated percentage of services, that would be utilized for future projects. Respondents that identified 8% Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and 6% Women Business Enterprise (WBE) firms were awarded 10 points and an additional two points were provided for those firms that agreed to utilize apprentices/externs on projects or identified a mentor/protégé or joint venture relationship. Partial points (five) were awarded to firms for partial utilization of MWBEs.
The Purchasing Division completed the scoring on local preference for all proposals while the Minority, Women & Small Business Enterprise (MWSBE) Division completed the scoring for the MWBE participation. The respondents have listed MWBE subcontractors certified by the Office of Economic Vitality or the Florida Office of Supplier Development for utilization on awarded projects. Specific projects under this continuing services solicitation will have aspirational targets of 8% MBE and 6% WBE to ensure the utilization of MWBE firms. Awarded vendors will be required to submit a detailed MWBE Utilization Plan for each assigned project from the County.
Based upon the total scores of the proposals, the Selection Committees recommended the award of contracts to the following 10 firms listed in Table #1, who were deemed to be the most highly qualified to perform the required services and based upon the anticipated volume of work in each category (Attachment #4).
Table #1: Selection Committee Contract Award Recommendations
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Work Category |
Firm |
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Architectural/Interior Design |
Architects Lewis & Whitlock Barnett Fronczak Barlowe & Shuler JRA Architects MLD Architects |
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Building Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, and Fire Protection Engineer |
H2Engineering Pinnacle Engineering Group |
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Landscape Architect |
Halff Associates, Inc. Hammond Design Group LLC Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. Marquis Latimer + Halback, Inc. |
Upon authorization by the Board, the County Administrator, or designee, will commence negotiations with the top-ranked firms in each category and, subject to legal review by the County Attorney, execute the resulting agreements. The continuing supply agreements will be for an initial two-year period, followed by three one-year extensions at the County’s option, for a potential maximum five-year term.
Options:
Authorize the County Administrator, or designee, to negotiate and execute Professional Services (which includes Building Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Fire Protection Engineering, and Landscape Architect) Continuing Supply agreements (Attachments #1, #2, and #3), and any amendments thereto, subject to legal review by the County Attorney.
Do not authorize the County Administrator, or designee, to negotiate and execute Professional Services (which includes Building Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Fire Protection Engineering, and Landscape Architect) Continuing Supply agreements.
Board direction.
Recommendation:
Option #1
Attachments: