It is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach, Florida approve the Resolution accepting the City Manager’s recommendation pertaining to the proposals received, pursuant to RFP 2024-021-ND, for disaster debris monitoring services, authorizing the Administration to enter into negotiations with Tetra Tech, Inc., the top-ranked proposer, as primary vendor. The Resolution also authorizes simultaneous negotiations with Disaster Program and Operations, Inc., and Rostan Solutions, LLC, the tied second-ranked proposers, in order to break the tie and establish secondary and tertiary vendors. Finally, the Resolution also authorizes the City Manager and City Clerk to execute agreements with each of the recommended proposers upon the conclusion of successful negotiations.

The solicitation is currently under the cone of silence.

In responding to weather-related emergencies, such as hurricanes, the City uses various contractors and consultants to assist in the recovery and ensure that the expenses incurred align with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirements. Compliance with FEMA requirements is a prerequisite to the City receiving reimbursement for these expenses.

The services provided by the debris monitoring contract include monitoring the measuring, movement, and disposal of the debris collected by the debris removal contractor. In accordance with FEMA regulations, the monitoring services must be performed by a contractor other than the debris removal contractor.

In the event of an emergency, such as a hurricane, the City would lack sufficient resources to undertake disaster debris monitoring operations.  While some monitoring assistance is available from the County, State, and Federal Government, it is often not sufficient to restore a community that has suffered a catastrophic disaster.  Also, the resources of the various governments are spread thin over the affected areas, necessitating contracted private-sector assistance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides public assistance funds for debris clearance and removal and disposal operations to state and local governments. However, FEMA has strict requirements relative to the procurement of debris removal and disaster recovery, which must be incorporated into any solicitation and contract for the services.  Therefore, monitoring debris removal and disposal contractor activities is a critical component in successful debris management operations and in the justification and documentation of any application for FEMA Public Assistance funding.

As such, it is in the City’s best interest to enter into pre-need agreements with firms that can provide disaster debris monitoring services in the event of an emergency requiring contractor resources. Accordingly, this item seeks approval to award the RFP for disaster debris monitoring services to establish a replacement contract once the current contract expires on June 26, 2024. As a result of the expiring contract, the RFP was developed seeking proposals for a replacement agreement.

On January 31, 2024, the Mayor and the City Commission authorized the issuance of Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2024-021-ND for disaster debris monitoring services. On February 1, 2024, the RFP was issued. Bid notices were issued to 1,515 companies, with 52 prospective bidders accessing the advertised solicitation. A voluntary pre-proposal conference to provide information to proposers submitting a response was held on February 8, 2024.  One (1) addendum was issued. RFP responses were due and received on March 4, 2024. The City received a total of five (5) proposals from the following firms:

Disaster Program & Operations, Inc.

Metric Consulting LLC

Rostan Solutions, LLC

Tetra Tech, Inc.

Tidal Basin Government Consulting, LLC

On March 1, 2024, the City Manager appointed an Evaluation Committee via LTC # 075-2024.  The Evaluation Committee convened on March 11, 2024, to consider the proposals received.  The Committee was comprised of Michael Clark, Superintendent, Sanitation Department, Ariel Guitian, Senior Project Manager, Office of Capital Improvement Projects, Carlos Naumann, Contracts Compliance Administrator, Parks and Recreation Department, and Kristina Nunez, Sewer Field Operations Supervisor, Public Works Department. The Committee was provided an overview of the project, information relative to the City’s Cone of Silence Ordinance, and the Government Sunshine Law. The Committee was also provided with general information on the scope of services and a copy of each proposal.  The Committee was instructed to score and rank each proposal pursuant to the evaluation criteria established in the RFP. The evaluation process resulted in the ranking of proposers as indicated in Attachment A.

The Evaluation Committee deemed Tetra Tech, Inc. the best-qualified firm to provide disaster debris monitoring services. The Evaluation Committee noted that Tetra Tech, Inc. is a national leader in debris monitoring and has assisted over 350 local and state government clients.  Tetra’s extensive experience includes but is not limited to having monitored the collection and removal of almost 72 million cubic yards of debris in Florida.  The Evaluation Committee noted that Tetra Tech’s operational team experience with FEMA, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and other reimbursement agencies’ requirements for eligibility, documentation, and reimbursement helps clients receive the maximum reimbursement allowed.

Tetra Tech, Inc. (Tetra Tech) is a leading provider of consulting, engineering, environmental, and technical services worldwide. Founded in 1966, Tetra Tech is one of the leading firms in the nation in the field of disaster management and homeland security, with millions of dollars in revenue coming from contracts in such diverse areas as infrastructure hardening and protection, disaster recovery, emergency management, planning, and preparedness; community resilience; environmental services, and grant management. Tetra Tech supports government and commercial clients by providing innovative solutions to complex problems focused on water, environment, energy, infrastructure, and natural resources.  Though an incumbent, Tetra Tech has not provided services to the City. It has provided services to Okaloosa County, the City of Melbourne, and the City of Gulfport, Mississippi.  All references provided positive feedback.

The evaluation committee process also resulted in Disaster Program & Operations, Inc. and Rostan Solutions, LLC being tied for second place. After reviewing the submissions, the Evaluation Committee’s rankings and commentary, the Administration recommends entering into simultaneous negotiations with Disaster Program & Operations, Inc. and Rostan Solutions, LLC in order to break the tie in order to establish secondary and tertiary vendors. Given the City’s potential needs based on past deployments, it is prudent, in addition to having a primary service provider, to have secondary and tertiary firms awarded in the event of a performance or capacity issue with the primary firm. 

Below is a brief synopsis of the tied second-ranked firms.

Disaster Program and Operations, Inc.

Disaster Program and Operations, Inc. (DP&O) is headquartered in Ponte Vedra, Florida, and maintains a local branch in Florida City. DP&O is committed to providing a successful, time-tested technical approach for debris monitoring of field operations regarding all storm-generated debris; debris pickup, debris hauling, debris staging and reduction, debris site management, and the final disposal of debris to an approved facility. DP&O is vastly familiar with Florida as it has provided services to The City of Homestead, Florida City, and Miami Dade County Public Schools. All references provided positive feedback.

Rostan Solutions, LLC

Rostan Solutions, LLC (Rostan) is a Florida-domiciled disaster consulting firm that started in the late 1990’s.  In more than 20 years of serving in the Florida marketplace, Rostan has held contracts with clients in 24 counties and has been activated by multiple Florida communities following every declared disaster since 2004.  Its personnel represents career industry professionals, technical experts, former FEMA and state emergency management employees, attorneys and legal/policy experts, engineers and facilities professionals, and a veteran debris operations team. Rostan though an incumbent, has not provided services to the City. It has provided services to the City of Coconut Creek, St. Pete Beach, and the Village of Estero.  All references provided positive feedback.

The 2022 resident survey results show that 87.3% are satisfied with the City’s emergency hurricane preparedness efforts.  Of the 87.3%, only 32% rated their satisfaction as excellent. In order to continue to improve the satisfaction of these residents and increase the excellent rating, the City intends to contract with qualified disaster debris monitoring contractor(s) to provide technical expertise and guidance to support the City during emergency recovery efforts following declared disaster event(s)s.

The RFP contained a listing of anticipated debris monitoring team positions should the City need to deploy disaster debris monitoring contractors.  Based on the proposal submitted by Tetra Tech, the top-ranked firm, Staff performed a cost analysis to determine whether the fiscal impact was in the City's best interest. The cost analysis compared the costs submitted under the RFP to similar line items in the current contract. For the items compared, it has been determined that Tetra Tech provided an hourly rate with an approximate increase of 7% compared to the City’s current hourly rate costs for these services.  The Consumer Price Index (CPI) change since the current contract was awarded in June 2019 is approximately 23%.  Accordingly, the proposed increase is much less than the historical increase since the inception of the most current contract.  Therefore, the Administration believes proceeding with an award is in the City’s best interest.

-435-0430-000343-29-421-511-00-00-00-

-435-0430-000325-29-413-511-00-00-00-

The City doesn’t budget for these services.  At time of need a budget amendment and/or budget transfer to these accounts will be needed. If the services are related to a natural emergency, the costs are typically eligible for reimbursement by FEMA.  

Based on the foregoing, it is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission approve the Resolution authorizing the Administration to enter into negotiations with Tetra Tech, Inc., the top-ranked proposer, as the primary vendor; and simultaneous negotiations with Disaster Program and Operations, Inc., and Rostan Solutions, LLC, the tied second-ranked proposers, in order to establish secondary and tertiary vendors.  Finally, the Resolution also authorizes the City Manager and City Clerk to execute agreements with each of the proposers upon conclusion of successful negotiations by the Administration.

LOBBYIST DISCLOSURE

In accordance with Resolution No. 2023-32857, adopted by the City Commission on December 13, 2023, the following information has been provided by the Administration:

1. Was the Agenda Item initially requested by a lobbyist which, as defined in Code Sec. 2-481, includes a principal engaged in lobbying? No.

2. If so, specify name of lobbyist(s) and principal(s): Not applicable.