It is recommended that the Mayor and Commission of the City of Miami Beach, Florida authorize the issuance of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for debris removal and disaster recovery services.

In the event of significant hurricane or other emergency, the City would lack sufficient resources in house to undertake debris removal and disaster recovery operations.  While some assistance may be available from the County, State and the 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.

As such, it is in the City’s best interest to enter into pre-need agreements with firms that have the capability to provide disaster recovery services in the event of an emergency that would require contractor resources.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides public assistance funds for debris clearance, 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 in any solicitation and contract for the services.

In order to ensure that the City is prepared for any need to activate debris removal and disaster recovery contractors, the City maintains pre-need agreements. The current agreement with various contractors are valid through February 4, 2024.

The purpose of this RFP is to seek proposals for a replacement agreement.

In order to consider a replacement agreement, this RFP seeks proposals from qualified disaster recovery contractors to provide debris removal and other disaster recovery services, including but not limited to vegetative debris removal, construction and demolition removal (C&D), road clearance, staging, disposal, hazardous waste removal, labor, supervision, equipment, materials, facilities, power, communications, and other services and supplies necessary for, or incidental to, the performance of the debris removal and disposal services.

The selected firms are required to comply with all FEMA and federal regulations regarding the services in order to maximize and expedite the City’s reimbursement requests. The City’s emergency management consultant, Tidal Basin, has reviewed the solicitation to ensure the City is best positioned to receive the maximum reimbursement if services were to be required.

The scope of work and requirements of the RFP for Disaster Recovery Services are more fully defined in the draft RFP attached as Attachment A. Following the receipt of proposals, an Evaluation Committee will review proposals in accordance with the criteria established in the RFP.

Results from the 2019 resident survey show that 84.5% are satisfied with the City’s emergency hurricane preparedness efforts.  Of the 84.5% only 36.5% 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 recovery contractors to provide technical expertise and guidance to support the City during emergency recovery efforts following declared disaster event(s).

Grant funding may be utilized for this project. 

It is recommended that the Mayor and Commission of the City of Miami Beach, Florida authorize the issuance of RFP 2023-431-ND, for Debris Removal and Disaster Recovery Services.