It is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission approve the Resolution accepting the recommendation of the City Manager to waive, by a 5/7ths vote, the formal competitive bidding requirements, finding such waiver to be in the best interest of the City, authorizing the City Manager to continue purchasing cable TV services from Cogeco US (Miami) LLC d/b/a Breezeline, on a month-to-month basis until such time as a new contract for cable services can be awarded. The Resolution also authorizes the Administration to issue an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) seeking proposals from firms interested in negotiating a contract with the City for cable TV services. The ITN will be provided to the Mayor and City Commission, prior to issuance, via a Letter to Commission (LTC).

On January 14, 2004, the Mayor and City Commission approved the franchise agreement with Atlantic Broadband Miami LLC (Atlantic Broadband) to provide cable television (TV) services city-wide. On March 18, 2022, Atlantic Broadband filed with the Florida Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, to change its name to Cogeco US (Miami) d/b/a Breezeline.

Since the franchise agreement was approved by the Mayor and City Commission, Breezeline has been providing cable TV services to City departments that require such a service.  On July 15, 2022, the Administration issued Invitation to Bid (ITB) 2022-554-LB seeking bids from cable services providers authorized to operate in the City. The ITB resulted in a sole bid from Breezeline which could not be considered as it was non-responsive to the ITB requirements for failing to include pricing. No other bids were received.

 After an analysis of the City’s spend with Breezeline revealed that annual expenditures exceeded $100,000 (the formal bid threshold), on September 13, 2022, the Mayor and City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2022-32283, waiving the formal competitive bidding requirement by a 5/7ths vote, and authorizing the continued purchase of cable services for City Departments provided by Breezeline, on a month-to-month basis, through April 30, 2023, or until such time as a new contract for cable services could be implemented, whichever occurs first.

Subsequently, the Administration revised the specifications of the solicitation to eliminate any perceived barriers to bidding and, on February 27, 2023, issued ITB 2023-064-LB seeking responses from firms interested in being prequalified to provide cable TV services to City departments. Again, a sole bid from Breezline was received in response to ITB 2023-064-LB. Since the purpose of ITB 2023-064-LB was to establish a prequalification pool of viable vendors from whom quotes could be sought when the need for services arises, the sole response from Breezeline was rejected.

IT is requesting authority for Citywide expenditure up to an amount not-to-exceed $100,000.

Therefore, the Administration is seeking authority to continue to pay for services at current locations and add any new locations that may need service until such time as a new contract is awarded. Additionally, the Administration recommends issuing another competitive solicitation seeking proposals for cable TV services to City facilities.

Further, it is recommended that an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) be issued seeking responses from service providers authorized to deliver cable TV services within the City. An ITN will allow staff to negotiate with qualified respondents who may have solutions that differ from the solutions prescribed in prior solicitations.

N/A

IT Annual $60,000.00
Housing Annual $11,300.00
Other Dept Annual $10,800.00

Total Spend $82,200

Amount(s)/Account(s):

IT FUND:
550-0640-000316-14-414-582-00-00-00-

HOUSING FUNDS:
116-4001-000316-00-404-534-00-00-00-
116-4004-000342-00-404-534-00-00-00-
116-4004-000316-00-404-534-00-00-00-
116-4003-000316-00-404-534-00-00-00-

OTHER DEPT FUNDS:
110-6232-000316-00-401-508-00-00-00-
111-6233-000316-00-401-508-00-00-00-
119-6231-000316-00-401-508-00-00-00-

It is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission approve the Resolution accepting the recommendation of the City Manager to waive, by a 5/7ths vote, the formal competitive bidding requirements, finding such waiver to be in the best interest of the City, authorizing the City Manager to continue purchasing cable TV services from Cogeco US (Miami) LLC d/b/a Breezeline, on a month-to-month basis until such time as a new contract for cable services can be awarded. The Resolution also authorizes the Administration to issue an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) seeking proposals from firms interested in negotiating a contract with the City for cable TV services. The ITN will be provided to the Mayor and City Commission, prior to issuance, via a Letter to Commission (LTC).