Legislative Matter

Miami-Dade Legislative Item
File Number: 053532

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File Number: 053532

File Type: Resolution

Status: Adopted

Version: 0

Reference: R-1399-05

Control: County Commission

File Name: STATE GOVERNMENTAL CONSULTING SERVICE

Introduced: 12/19/2005

Requester: Procurement Management Department

Cost:

Final Action: 12/20/2005

Agenda Date: 12/20/2005

Agenda Item Number: 14A2

Notes:

KGM

Title:

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY MANAGER TO EXTEND THE AGREEMENTS, FOR UP TO NINE MONTHS, WITH RONALD L. BOOK, P.A.; RUTLEDGE, ECENIA, PURNELL & HOFFMAN, P.A.; PENNINGTON, MOORE, WILKINSON, BELL & DUNBAR, P.A.; AND SQUIRE, SANDERS & DEMPSEY, LLP, TO PROVIDE STATE GOVERNMENTAL REPRESENTATION AND CONSULTING SERVICES IN TALLAHASSEE, FL CONTRACT NOS. Q51A, Q51B, Q51C AND Q51D [SEE ORIGINAL ITEM UNDER FILE NO. 053141]

Indexes:

CONSULTING SERVICES

Sponsors:

NONE

Sunset Provision: No

Effective Date:

Expiration Date:

Registered Lobbyist:

None Listed

Legislative History
Acting Body	Date	Agenda Item	Action	Sent To	Due Date	Returned	Pass/Fail

Board of County Commissioners	12/20/2005	14A2	Adopted				P
REPORT:	Commissioner Sosa requested the 4-Day Rule action be removed from Agenda Item 14A2 so that the Board might consider this resolution during today’s proceedings. She explained that her initial request to invoke the 4-Day Rule was an attempt to emphasize the need for better communication within County departments. She further noted a need for the development of a mechanism for fair evaluations of consultants who provide services to the County. Commissioner Sosa asked the County Manager to prepare a response to the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs’ memorandum concerning a conflict between the Consultants for Miami-Dade County currently in Tallahassee. Director Joe Rasco, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, advised that Lobbyist Ron Book had a conflict with two of three cities involved in the mitigation fees issue. He noted Mr. Book’s willingness to address these concerns. Chairman Martinez and Commissioner Seijas concurred that to resolve the conflict of interest issue, Mr. Book should be required to terminate his service to those cities in order to continue providing service to the County. Commissioner Sorenson asked that this matter be deferred to allow those cities to reconsider their positions on the mitigation issue. Commissioner Jordan asked that the County Manager provide the Commission with a report outlining future needs, such as bonds, CITT, franchises, etc., requested from the County from each existing Miami-Dade municipality for the next two (2) years (2007). An extensive discussion ensued among Commission members concerning what actions to take toward resolving mitigation fee issues between Miami-Dade County and the Cities of Doral, Palmetto Bay, and Miami Lakes; and what approach would be best for governing County consultants who represented clients who also conducted business with the County. It was moved by Commissioner Sosa that the foregoing proposed resolution be amended to provide that Mr. Ronald Book appear before the Board at the next Commission Meeting (January 24, 2006), to address the conflict with each municipality. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Gimenez for discussion. Commissioner Sorenson recommended that the foregoing proposed resolution be amended to eliminate the waiver of conflict provision and to prohibit any lobbying team member from representing clients doing business with Miami-Dade County. Commissioner Sosa noted her acceptance of the elimination of waivers portion of Commissioner Sorenson’s proposed amendment and asked for clarification of the latter. Following County Attorney Greenberg’s clarification of Commissioner Sorenson’s intent, several members expressed opposition to prohibiting lobbyists’ representation of clients doing business with the County as it would diminish the pool of qualified consultants. Following further discussion, Chairman Martinez called Mr. Ronald Book forth to address the concerns of the Board. Mr. Ronald Book, Esq., 2999 NE 191 Street, appeared before the board and advised that he was not aware of the published article regarding mitigation issues with the Cities of Doral and Palmetto Bay, which he represented. He provided an overview of his tenure as leader of the County’s lobbying team in Tallahassee, Florida. Mr. Book requested an opportunity to ask the Cities of Palmetto Bay and Doral to allow him to represent them solely on appropriation issues. He noted that given the choice of representing the County versus representing the Cities of Doral and Palmetto Bay, he would choose the County. Chairman Martinez stated the issue before the Board was to either grant an oral waiver on appropriations for those two municipalities only or require Mr. Book to make a choice whether to represent them or the County. Commissioner Sosa withdrew her previous motion to amend the resolution.. Commissioner Sorenson asked that the Village of Palmetto Bay be given the opportunity to reconsider their position regarding mitigation fees prior to Mr. Book making his decision. Following further discussion, it was moved by Commissioner Gimenez that the Board approve the forgoing resolution requiring Mr. Book to appear within one month to address his conflict issues. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Heyman. Commissioner Moss asked that the foregoing proposed resolution be approved in its entirety with a condition providing that the City of Doral and Village of Palmetto Bay be given the opportunity to rescind their position or forfeit representation by Mr. Book. Commissioner Barreiro asked that the County Manager and County Attorney investigate the feasibility of applying this restriction to all County lobbyists. Hearing no further questions or comments, the Board proceeded to vote on the foregoing motion.

County Manager	12/19/2005		Assigned	Pete Hernandez	12/19/2005	12/19/2005

County Manager	12/19/2005		Assigned	County Attorney	12/20/2005
REPORT:	DPM(Amended version 12/19/2005)

County Attorney	12/19/2005		Assigned	Hugo Benitez		12/19/2005

County Manager	12/19/2005		Additions		12/20/2005

Intergov., Recreation & Cultural Affairs Cmte.	12/14/2005	3C Amd.	Forwarded to BCC with a favorable recommendation with committee amendment(s)				P
REPORT:	Assistant County Attorney Monica Maldonado read the foregoing proposed ordinance into the record. Director of Procurement Management, Miriam Singer, provided brief comments regarding the intent of this ordinance, which she noted included a request to extend the State governmental representation contract on a month-to-month basis in order to complete the process for the successor contract. She noted the current contract expired on January 3lst and she was seeking a waiver of the Board’s rules and procedures to allow this ordinance to be considered at the December 20th County Commission, before the contract expired. Referring to the vendors noted on handwritten page two of this ordinance, Commissioner Gimenez questioned whether Steel, Hector and Davis, LLP still existed. Assistant County Attorney Hugo Benitez noted the firm should read Squire, Sanders and Dempsey (phonetic). Chairwoman Heyman asked that this ordinance be amended accordingly. It was moved by Commissioner Gimenez that this resolution be forwarded to the County Commission with a favorable recommendation with Committee amendment(s) to delete the vendor Steel, Hector and Davis, LLP and replace that vendor with Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Moss, and upon being put to a vote, passed by a vote of 4-0. (Commissioners Jordan and Souto were absent). Chairman Heyman asked Deputy County Manager Pete Hernandez to prepare a memorandum asking Chairman Martinez to waive the Board’s rules and procedures and allow this resolution to be forwarded for consideration at the December 20, 2005 County Commission meeting as requested by Ms. Singer.

Legislative Text

TITLE
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY MANAGER TO EXTEND THE AGREEMENTS, FOR UP TO NINE MONTHS, WITH RONALD L. BOOK, P.A.; RUTLEDGE, ECENIA, PURNELL & HOFFMAN, P.A.; PENNINGTON, MOORE, WILKINSON, BELL & DUNBAR, P.A.; AND SQUIRE, SANDERS & DEMPSEY, LLP, TO PROVIDE STATE GOVERNMENTAL REPRESENTATION AND CONSULTING SERVICES IN TALLAHASSEE, FL.
CONTRACT NOS. Q51A, Q51B, Q51C and Q51D

BODY
WHEREAS, this Board desires to accomplish the purposes outlined in the accompanying memorandum, a copy of which is incorporated herein by reference;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board approves the extension of the agreements, for up to nine months, with Ronald L. Book, P.A.; Rutledge, Ecenia, Purnell & Hoffman, P.A.; Pennington, Moore, Wilkinson, Bell & Dunbar, P.A.; and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, LLP, and authorizes the County Manager to execute supplemental agreements for and on behalf of Miami-Dade County to extend the agreements.

HEADER
Date:

To: Honorable Chairman Joe A. Martinez
and Members, Board of County Commissioners

From: George M. Burgess
County Manager

Subject: Recommendation to Extend Contract Nos. 51a-d: State Governmental Representation and Consulting Services in Tallahassee, Florida

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) approve extensions to Contract Nos. 51a-d for governmental representation and consulting services in Tallahassee, Florida for up to nine months, on a month-to-month basis, to allow time for the replacement contracts to be awarded.

MANAGER'S BACKGROUND
CONTRACT NOS: Q51a, Q51b, Q51c and Q51d

CONTRACT TITLE: State Governmental Representation and Consulting Services in Tallahassee, Florida

DESCRIPTION: These contracts were awarded to obtain state governmental representation and consulting services before the executive and legislative branches of the state government to include a full range of lobbying, governmental consulting and advocacy services.

CURRENT TERM: The original contract term was two years (from February 1, 2003 through January 31, 2005), with a two-year option to renew at the County�s sole option. At the January 20, 2005 Board meeting, staff�s recommendation to extend the contracts for six months was approved. The recommendation to extend for a shorter period of time, forgoing the option to renew, was based on the County�s desire to re-solicit these services in order to restructure and reduce the pool of vendors, and to re-align the start of the contracts to coincide with the State legislative process. When the Board approved contract extensions were due to expire on July 31, 2005, the County exercised its administrative authority to extend the contracts for six months, until January 31, 2006, to allow time to complete the re-procurement of these services.

The initial Board approved extension, together with the administrative extension and this request to extend for up to nine months, in the aggregate, fall within the two-year option to renew period which was previously anticipated under the contracts.

CONTRACT AMOUNT: Aggregate amount of $650,000 annually, plus up to $75,000 for work orders per contract, per year.

USING/MANAGING AGENCIES AND
FUNDING SOURCE(S): Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
General Fund

CURRENT EXPIRATION: January 31, 2006

MODIFIED EXPIRATION: The contracts will be extended on a month-to-month basis, until replacement contracts are awarded.

VENDORS: Q51a: Ronald L. Book, P.A.
Q51b: Rutledge, Ecenia, Purnell & Hoffman, P.A.
Q51c: Pennington, Moore, Wilkinson, Bell & Dunbar, P.A.
Q51d: Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, LLP

CONTRACT MEASURES: There are no contract measures assigned to these contracts.

LIVING WAGE: Not applicable. The services to be provided are not covered under the ordinance

USER ACCESS PROGRAM (UAP): The contracts include the 2% User Access Program provision. The County will collect the UAP.

LOCAL PREFERENCE: Not applicable.

PROJECT MANAGER: Jose Rasco, Director, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

ESTIMATED EXTENSION The effective date of the resolution will be 10 days after
COMMENCEMENT DATE: the expiration of the Mayoral veto period and completion of the period stipulated for reconsideration of the approval by the BCC.

BACKGROUND

The County has four governmental consultants providing lobbying services under Contract Nos. Q51a-d which expire on January 31, 2006. A Request for Qualifications (RFQ No. 75) was issued by the County to replace the current contracts. However, the RFQ was placed on hold in the solicitation phase. The RFQ process has since resumed and the replacement contracts are not anticipated to be in place by the expiration date of the current contracts. As the County has exhausted its administrative authority to extend these contracts, approval by the Board is requested to ensure continuity of service.

_____________________
Assistant County Manager