A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CITY MANAGER, PURSUANT TO REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) NO. 2021-068-DF, FOR ROOFING CONSULTANT SERVICES; AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATION TO ENTER INTO NEGOTIATIONS WITH RAYMOND ENGINEERING-GEORGIA, INC. AND NOVA ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL, LLC, TIED AS FIRST RANKED PROPOSERS, TO SERVE AS CO-PRIMARY CONSULTANTS; ESTABLISHING A POOL OF PREQUALIFIED CONSULTANTS TO ASSIST WITH SMALLER ROOFING CONSULTANT SERVICES (OR RELATED NEEDS), AND WITH RESPECT TO THIS PRE-QUALIFIED CONSULTANT POOL, AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATION TO ENTER INTO NEGOTIATIONS WITH RMS BUILDING ENVELOPE CONSULTANTS LLC AND UNIVERSAL ENGINEERING SCIENCES, LLC, TIED AS THIRD RANKED PROPOSERS; AND FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CITY CLERK TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH EACH OF THE FOREGOING PROPOSERS UPON CONCLUSION OF SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS BY THE ADMINISTRATION. 

The Administration recommends 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 bids received, pursuant to RFQ 2021-068-DF, for roofing consultant services.

Roofing consulting services are essential to the Administration’s ability to establish a roof system evaluation program, capital planning and preventative maintenance services. The Administration requires assistance from qualified firms to assist Property Management staff in evaluating the condition of roofs at various municipal facilities, as well as assist in the development of competitive specifications, bid review, project management and warranty tracking of major roof repairs or replacement projects.

The City of Miami Beach solicited for “Statements of Qualifications” that the City may consider in order to select a qualified consultant(s) to assist the Property Management Division in evaluating the condition of roofs at various municipal facilities, providing owner’s representative services during an approved repair /or replacement program and other services as identified herein.

The City may award contracts for services to a prime consultant(s), as well as create a continuing pool of prequalified consultants, as follows:

1.    Prime Consultant(s). The City may make an award to qualified consultant(s) that can act in the capacity of the City’s prime consultant for roofing consulting services. While the City intends to make an award to a single consultant, it reserves its right to award to multiple consultants if it deems it is in its best interest. Additionally, the City reserves the right to engage other consultants, either through option 2 below or through other means, to assist the City.

2.    Pool of Pre-qualified Consultants. Additionally, to assist with smaller roofing consultant services (or related needs), the City intends to create a continuing pool of prequalified consultants (not selected in Option 1 above). Firms that submit a proposal pursuant to the RFQ, and who are deemed to be responsive, responsible and best qualified may be eligible to participate in the continuing pool of pre-qualified consultants. The firms included in the continuing pool will also be eligible to participate as sub-consultants to the prime consultant on applicable projects at the discretion of the City.

On December 9, 2020, the Mayor and City Commission authorized the issuance of Request for Qualifications (RFQ) 2021-068-DF for Roofing Consultant Services. On December 11, 2020, the RFQ was issued.  A voluntary pre-proposal conference to provide information to proposers submitting a response was held on December 22, 2020.  Three (3) addenda were issued.  Bid notices were issued to over 47,000 companies through the City’s e-procurement platform.  88 prospective bidders accessed the advertised solicitation.  On January 29, 2021, responses were received a total of seven (7) proposals from the following firms:

·       Building Envelope Management LLC

·       Gale Associates, Inc.

·       Nova Engineering and Environmental LLC

·       Raymond Engineering-Georgia, Inc.

·       RMS Building Envelope Consultants LLC  

·       Universal Engineering Sciences LLC

·       WGI, Inc.

On February 21, 2021 WGI, Inc. formally requested to withdraw their proposal and, as a result, received no further consideration.

On January 26, 2020, the City Manager appointed the Evaluation Committee via LTC # 040-2021.  The Evaluation Committee convened on February 22, 2021, to consider proposals received.  The Committee was comprised of Martin Calcano, Facility Capital Projects Coordinator, Property Management Department; Elizabeth Estevez, Parks and Recreation Project Coordinator, Parks and Recreation Department; and Kamal De’Shong, Facilities Zone Manager, Property Management 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 RFQ. The evaluation process resulted in the ranking of proposers as indicated in Attachment A.

A summary of each top-ranked firm follows, as articulated in their responses:

Nova Engineering and Environmental, LLC (Nova Engineering). Established in 1996, Nova Engineering was originally founded to provide Environmental Consulting, Geotechnical Engineering, and Construction Materials Testing and Inspection services to the design and construction community. Currently, Nova Engineering employs 430+ personnel in 17 offices serving clients throughout the southeastern United States and beyond. Nova Engineering has professional and administrative support staff that includes registered professional engineers, registered professional geologists, environmental scientists, registered roof observers, LEED accredited professionals, soil/foundation engineers, laboratory specialists, materials technicians, ICC-certified inspectors, NICET-certified technicians, and AWS-certified welding inspectors.

Raymond Engineering-Georgia, Inc. (Raymond Engineering). Since 1992, Raymond Engineering has performed industry leading roofing and building envelope design, quality assurance inspections, construction management, and roof asset management to clients spanning the Southeast. Raymond’s team technical expertise and past performance repertoire is unparalleled as their firm’s foundation has been built upon a roofing/building envelope and waterproofing background.

RMS Building Envelope Consultants LLC (RMS).  RMS has a track record of more than 30 years in the roofing and waterproofing industry in South Florida and aboard which allows them to continuously earn and develop the trust of their clients, architects, and professional contractors. RMS knows they can provide innovative solutions and tools that will contribute to their efforts to reach their goals and are genuinely in their best interest.

Universal Engineering Sciences LLC (Universal Engineering). For nearly six decades, Universal Engineering has provided essential engineering services throughout the United States, including Geotechnical Engineering, Construction Materials Testing & Inspection, Building Code Compliance, Environmental, and Building Envelope. Experienced and proven, Universal Engineering is considered a pioneer of the industry and stands at the forefront of emerging technology, best practices, and influential legislature.

According to a 2019 Community Satisfaction Survey conducted by ETC Institute, 5% of City residents believe that the appearance and maintenance of the City’s public buildings take priority, and only 7.6% of City residents believe the City’s facility improvements are most important. As City buildings continually receive restoration and improvements through various Property Management Department efforts, it is critical through this RFQ that roofing consultant services be awarded in order to maintain City facilities.

After reviewing the submissions and the Evaluation Committee’s rankings and commentary, I concur with the Evaluation Committee that Nova Engineering and Raymond Engineering, the two tied top-ranked proposers, presented the best combination of experience and qualifications in response to the RFQ. Nova Engineering has assembled an exceptional team with extensive subject matter expertise, in-house testing availability, and robust reporting. Raymond Engineering has many years of experience in the industry, is a veteran-owned business, and has demonstrated subject matter expertise in working in and around coastal cities. Accordingly, as stipulated in the RFQ, I believe the two top-ranked firms will serve the City well as co-primaries.

I further concur with the Evaluation Committee in finding RMS and Universal Engineering, the two tied third-ranked firms to be well qualified. RMS has been providing the City with roofing consulting services since 2017 and has a strong record of performance. Universal Engineering, who currently holds a geotechnical contract with the City, is also well qualified to provide the necessary services. As also stipulated in the RFP, in addition to the primary firms, a pool of consultants would be established for related needs, including acting as sub-consultants to the primary firms. In this regard, I believe RMS and Universal Engineering are well positioned to provide the necessary services. 

Therefore, I recommend that the Mayor and City Commission approve the resolution authorizing the Administration to enter into negotiations with Nova Engineering and Environmental LLC and Raymond Engineering-Georgia, Inc., the tied top-ranked proposers, to serve as co-primary consultants; and, RMS Building Envelope Consultants LLC and Universal Engineering Sciences LLC, the tied third-ranked proposers, to serve in the pool of prequalified consultants; further, authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute agreements with each of the foregoing proposers upon conclusion of successful negotiations by the Administration.