HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-03-0067J-02-1061
12/10/02
RESOLUTION NO. 0 3 — 0 6
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
APPROVING THE CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER'S
DECISION TO REJECT THE PROTEST OF BERMELLO
AJAMIL & PARTNERS, INC., IN CONNECTION WITH
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS NO. 00-02-251 ISSUED
FOR PROFESSIONAL DESIGN SERVICES FOR FOUR NEW
FIRE STATIONS, AS SUCH PROTEST HAS BEEN
DETERMINED NOT TO COMPLY WITH THE PROCEDURAL
REQUIREMENTS OF THE CITY CODE.
WHEREAS, the City of Miami advertised for competitive
proposals through Request for Proposals ("RFP") No. 00-02-251 for
professional design services for four new Fire Stations; and
WHEREAS, on August 27, 2002, the City of Miami received
twelve proposals to the RFP; and
WHEREAS, Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc., alleges in its
letters there was an oversight in the evaluation of its proposal;
and
CITY COMMISSION
MEETING OF
JAN Q 9 ?003
Resolution No.
03- 067
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 18-99 of the Code of the City
of Miami, Florida, as amended, the Chief Procurement Officer, in
the role of arbitrator, investigated the matter and determined
that the letters submitted by Bermello & Ajamil & Partners, Inc.,
did not constitute a notice of intent to protest or a formal
written protest; and
WHEREAS, the City Manager and City Attorney concur with the
findings of the Chief Procurement Officer and recommend rejection
of the protest filed by Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc.;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the
Preamble to this Resolution are adopted by reference and
incorporated as if fully set forth in this Section.
Section 2. The Chief Procurement Officer's decision to
reject the protest of Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc., in
connection with Request for Proposal No. 00-02-251 issued for
professional design services for four new Fire Stations is
approved, as such protest has been determined not to comply with
the procedure requirements of the City Code.
Page 2 of 3 03- 0c7
Section 3. This Resolution shall become effective
immediately upon its adoption and signature of the Mayor.-'/
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 9th day of January ,2003.
ATTEST:
PRISCILLA A. T MPSON
CITY CLERK
AND CORRECTNESS:/
MDRO VILARELLO
ATTORNEY
W6772:tr:AS:BSS
. ;•
1� If the Mayor does not sign this Resolution, it shall become
effective at the end of ten calendar days from the date it was
passed and adopted. If the Mayor vetoes this Resolution, it
shall become effective immediately upon override of the veto by
the City Commission.
Page 3 of 3
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CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA33
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members DATE December 12, 2002 FILE
of the City Commission
SUBJECT: Rejection of Protest
RFP No. 00-02-251 Design of Four
(4) Fire Stations
FROM:eZ REFERENCES:
*CityMan�a,Tg ENCLOSURES:
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the City Commission adopt the attached resolution
approving the Chief Procurement Officer's decision to reject the protest of Bermello Ajamil
& Partners, Inc., in connection with RFP No. 00-02-251, Design of Four (4) New Fire
Stations.
BACKGROUND
On August 5, 2002, the City of Miami solicited Request ' for Proposals No. 00-02-251 to
provide professional design services for four (4) new Fire Stations. By letter, received on
October 28, 2002, Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc., protested the City's recommendation of
award.
Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc., alleged they did not have information available in
sufficient time to form the basis of a protest. An interoffice memorandum dated October 18,
2002, from Eddie Lamas of Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc., to Willy Bermello, confirms
their representatives reviewed the information requested on October 17, 2002. Assuming this
information was required to form the basis of the protest, the Chief Procurement Officer, in
accordance with the City of Miami Code, must have received a notice of intent to file a
protest no later than October 21, 2002, and a formal written protest including the required
protest bond must have been received no later than October 25, 2002. As of the date, the
Chief Procurement Officer has not received the notice of intent to file a protest or the formal
written protest with the required bond.
In an effort to clarify some points that were raised by Mr. Willy Bermello at the November
19, 2002 City Commission Meeting, the Request for Proposals evaluation criteria did not
contain "Contract Measures" requirements (M/WBE Certification). However, Mr. Bermello
contends that the scoring sheet's evaluation criteria, "awarding the contract to the firm would
broaden the distribution of contracts among certified firms", should be interpreted as
"certified minority" firms. The term "certified" is intended to mean, "licensed and certified in
the professional discipline required for the project". In this category the Selection
Committee's median score for Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc., is two (2), and the median
score for M.C. Harry & Associates, Inc., is four (4).
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Additionally, the evaluation criteria did not contain local office requirements, however, both
M.C. Harry & Associates, Inc., and Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc., have offices within the
City of Miami.
The City received proposals from many very qualified firms, with the difference in points
among the top three (3) firms of only three (3) points. As such, it was requested to review the
possibility of bifurcating the award of the contract to allow the two top ranked firms to split
the award of the Contract. The RFP specifically identified that it is the City's intent to retain
one (1) consultant.
Pursuant to Section 18-99 of the City Code, the Chief Procurement Officer duly investigated
the facts and determined that Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc., failed to comply with the
procedural requirements of the City Code for the timely submission of a protest. The protest
was not filed within the time limits set forth by the Code nor was the required bond posted.
Additionally, it was determined, based upon the letters submitted by Bermello Ajamil &
Partners, Inc., had they filed a timely protest, the information supplied lacked merit.
It is therefore recommended that the City Commission adopt the attached resolution
approving the Chief Procurement Officer's decision to reject the protest of Bermello Ajamil
& Partners, Inc.
Enc.
01- 061
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM'
TO: Carlos A. Gimenez, City Manager December 2, 2002
DATE: FILE
Alejandro Vilarello, City Attorney
FROM: Michael A. Rath
Acting Purchasing Director
SUBJECT: Rejection of Protest received from
Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc.
RFP No. 00-02-251
REFERENCES:
ENCLOSURES:
I hereby request your approval of my rejection of the protest by Bermello Ajamil & Partners,
Inc., related to the above referenced RFP for professional services to design four (4) new Fire
Stations.
The basis of my decision, as set forth in the attached letter, is the fact that Bermello Ajamil &
Partners, Inc., failed to comply with the procedural requirements of the City Code for the
timely submission of a protest and failed to post the required bond.
Approved:
City Manager
'Ayr, 'At.-
jandro Vilarello
i Attorney
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December 2, 2002 <<�-•*�°�,o VIA FACSIMILE AND REGULAR MAIL
Willy A. Bermello, President
Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc.
2601 S. Bayshore Drive, 1 e Fldor
Miami, FL 33133
Re: RFP 00-02-251 Four New Fire Stations, Protest of Award
Dear Mr. Bermello:
As the Chief Procurement Officer of the City of Miami, I read your letter of October 16, 2002, addressed to Aurora
Badia, Department of Public Works and your letter of October 22, 2002, addressed to Carlos Gimenez, City
Manager, relative to the above referenced Request for Proposals. Pursuant to my duties under Section 18-99(b)
of the City of Miami Code, Resolution of Protest Solicitations and Awards, I have determined that these letters are
not in compliance with the requirements of Section 18-99, Subsection (a) and (f)..for the filing a formal protest.
Section 18-99(a) of the City Code, states:
A notice of protest shall be submitted in writing to and received by the Chief Procurement Officer
within two days after invitation to bid is received or after the reading of the bid tabulation by the City
Clerk or after receipt of the notice of the City's decision or intent or intended decision. A formal written
protest must be submitted to and received by the Chief Procurement Officer within five days after the
date the notice of protest was filed. No time limit will be added to the above limits for service by mail.
Further, Section 18-99(c) of the City Code states:
"Failure of a party to timely file either the notice of protest or the formal written protest with the chief
procurement officer within the time provided in subsection (a), above, shall constitute a forfeiture of
such party's right to file a protest pursuant to this section".
You were noted of the -Competitive Selection Committee's recommendation to seek City Commission's approval
to negotiate a Contract with the top ranked proposer on October 2, 2002. You allege that you did not have
information you requested available to you to in sufficient time to form the basis of a protest. An interoffice
memorandum dated, October 18, 2002 from Eddie Lamas of your firm, addressed to you, confirms your
representatives reviewed the information you requested on October 17, 2002. Assuming this information was
required to form the basis of your protest, my office must have received your notice of intent -to file a protest no
later than October 21, 2002, and a formal written protest including the required protest bond, . must have been
received by my office no later than October 25, 2002.
As of this date, I have not received an official notice of protest as outline above. Further, had you met the
requirements for filing a notice of protest; you failed to meet the five-day requirement for the submission of the
formal written protest: In addition, section 18-89(f) of the City Code requires that the formal written protest be
accompanied by a bond payable to the City in amount equal -to one percent of the amount of the contract or
$5,000, whichever is less. This requirement was not met.
Based upon the above facts, the City Manager and City Attorney have concurred with my finding that the City is
unable to considerr the merits of your protest due to your failure to comply with the procedural requirements of the
City Code.
03- 067
December 2, 2002
Page Two
In an effort to clarify the points you state in you letters, the Request for Proposals evaluation criteria did not
contain "Contract Measures" requirements (M/WBE Certification), and as the ranking of firms was determined
based upon independent subjective scoring by the individual Selection Committee members, I am unable to
determine how each of the Committee members perceived and evaluated what they read, saw or heard. The
mental impressions of our Committee members in making their evaluations are not a matter of public record for
me to second-guess. As you are aware, the City received proposals from many very qualified firms, including,
without limitation your own firm, with the difference in points among the top three (3) firms of only three (3) points.
I hope you appreciate that if I were to disregard these requirements in our Code it would create a chaotic situation
in our Procurement System.
This matter will be considered by the City Commission at its meeting of Thursday, December 12, 2002, to be held
at Miami Arena, 701 Arena Blvd., Miami. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Rath, CPPD, CPPB
Chief Procurement Officer/Acting Director
c: Carlos A. Gimenez, City Manager
Alejandro Vilarello, City Attorney
Robert Nachlinger, Assistant City Manager
Rafael Diaz, Assistant City Attorney
Rafael Suarez -Rivas, Assistant City Attorney
Janet Palacino, Director, Department of Capital Improvements
Jorge R. Avino, Deputy Director, Department of Capital Improvements
03-061
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO Michael Rath DATE October 28, 2002 FILE
Actin Director
P in pepartment Sus.!ECT : RFP 00-02-251
Four New Fire Stations
PROM J� 1(. Avino, P.E., P.L.S. REFERENCES
e �nty Director
epartment of Capital Improvements ENCLOSURES: : Selection Committee Findings
Attached herewith please find a copy of a letter we received on the above mentioned protesting
the selection of the consultant, together with the backup documentation.
Please advise us what the next step is that we need to follow.
Thanks
C: Janet Palacino
G:VM\Data\WoM\Four New Fire StationAProtest Memo from B&A.doc
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BERMELLO•AJAMIL
6:PARTNERS•INC
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ARCHITECTURE ENGINEERING PLANNING INTERIOR DESIGN • LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
November 4, 2002
via MSPS Certified Mail
Return Receipt Requested
Mr. Michael A. Rath, CPPD, CPPB
Chief Procurement Officer/Acting Director
City of Miami, Department of Purchasing
444 SW 2"d Avenue, 6`s Floor
Miami, FL 33130
re: RFP 00-02-25 I Four New Fire Stations, Protest of Award
Dear Mr. Rath:
I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 31'. I was somewhat surprised by your
response, because it is apparent that your sole focus of attention is whether in bringing to the
City's attention what appears to be an oversight by the Selection Committee was of little or no
importance in comparison to whether this oversight was brought to the City's attention within a
specified time or whether it followed the appropriate legal format.
The purpose of our communication was simply to convey a fact to the City, under the assumption
that regardless of the procedural circumstances, a deficiency such as the one pointed out by our
firm would be of importance to the City administration, sufficiently to investigate the accuracy of
our observations as brought forth in our letter dated October 22nd .
It is important to note that it was impossible for us to analyze and reach our findings until the City
agreed to meet with us and provided us with the actual scoring sheets. That meeting occurred on
October 17'. Once we had an opportunity of reviewing the scores and meeting with City staff,
it was evident that the error had occurred, and it was pointed out to them at that meeting. To
simply have filed a protest within the five (5) days of having been notified that our firm had not
been selected for these commissions would have been premature, and frankly out of character
with the philosophy of our firm, which is to cooperate and work with staff wherever possible. In
summary, once we became aware of the deficiency, we immediately brought it to the City's
attention.
03-- 067
2601 SOUTH BAYSHORE DRIVE • 10TH FLOOR • MIAMI FL 33133 • USA • 1-305.859-2050 • FAX 1-305-659-9636
www.bomiami.com AACMMI2• EAMNM
,cww", .IpNNIN
Mr. Michael A. Rath, CPPD, CPPB
November 4, 2002
Page 2
Having read and reviewed the City's documents personally, I am convinced that an error was
made, even though there is no doubt that it was an inadvertent oversight on the part of the
Selection Committee. Given the closeness of the voting, that error resulted in the difference
between the first and second ranked firm.
I would have preferred to try to find a resolution to this issue at the administrative level, which is
of course where the problem arose. However, your letter gives me no option other than to sit
back to do nothing or bring it to the attention of those that will make the final decision with
respect to the awarding of the contracts.
Sincerely,
Willy A. Bermello
President
WAB:mk
cdw/encl: Hon. Manny Diaz, Mayor
Hon. Johnny Winton, Commissioner
Hon. Joe Sanchez, Commissioner
Hon. Tomas Regalado, Commissioner
Hon. Art Teele, Commissioner
Hon. Angel Gonzalez, Commissioner
Kristin Kautz, B&A
Luis Ajamil, B&A
cdwo/encs: Carlos A. Gimenez, City Manager
Alejandro Vilarello, City Attorney
Robert Nachlinger, Assistant City Manager
Rafael .Diaz, Assistant City Attorney
Jorge R. Avino, Deputy Director, Dept of Capital Improvements
03- 061
BERMELLO•AJAMIL
III PARTNERS•I.NC
A R C III T E C T U R E • E N 6 1 N E E R I N 6 - ► L A N N I N 6 • I N T E R I O R 0 E S 1 6 N • L A N 0 S C A E A N C N 1 T E C T U N E
October 22, 2002
via hand delivery
Mr. Carlos Gimenez, City Manager
City of Miami
444 SW 2 Avenue, I Oth Floor
Miami, FL 33130
re: RFP 00-02-251/Four New Fire Stations
City of Miami
Dear Carlos:
I have enclosed a copy of a memo received from Mr. Eddie Lamas, partner in the firm and the
person designated as our project architect in response to the above referenced RFP. Our firm was
ranked second by the City's Selection Committee, 1-1 /2 points behind the first ranked team.
In reviewing the Selection Committee's scoring, we found a discrepancy that 1 thought would be
important to bring to your attention. Our firm was given rather a low score under Section III,
Project Schedule and Management Plan, for Question "C", which deals with whether the awarding
of the contract to B&A would broaden the distribution of contracts among certified firms. Out
of a possible four (4). points, our firm was given two (2) points; whereas the first ranked firm was
given four (4) points. This is important because that two point difference meant the difference
between first and second place ranking. In reviewing our firm, the Selection Committee did not
take into account the fact that we're both a Hispanic Minority Certified Firm in the City of Miami,
and that we have no work currently with the City of Miami either.
In our opinion, given the fact that we are the largest A&E firm with its offices in the City,
compounded by the fact that we have a number of large private projects within the City, the
Selection Committee could have been under the impression that we have a lot of work with the
City, when just the opposite is the reality. In addition, we're a Certified Hispanic Minority Firm,
whereas the .first ranked firm is not These two clarifications are important and we believe that
there was simply an oversight by the Selection Committee when they evaluated our firm within
the context of this specific criteria.
03- 067
2601 SOUTH BAYSHORE DRIVE 10TH FLOOR MIAMI FL 33133 . USA • 1.305-159-2050 FAX 1-305-959-9631
www.bamiami.com ucmn, • n«we.
Lcwwtu -16e 14
Mr. Carlos Gimenez, City Manager
October 22, 2002
Page 2
I realize that this item will come before the City Commission. I trust that it will not be too late
to have this issue reviewed and hopefully rectified prior to final action. Thanks in advance.
Warmest personal regards,
�A/;41
Willy A. Bermello
President
WAB:mk
Enclosure
cc: Jorge Avino, Public Works Department
O.VlichdklWPDOCs1MKTG00021G nwnez CaHcs4022.wpd
03- 067
BERMELLO-AJAMIL
&PARTNERS - INC
ARC NIT E CTURE - E NG.1 NEENI NG - PLAN N I NG - INTERIOR DESIGN - LANDSCAPE ARCNITECTURE
MEMORANDUM
TO: WAB
FROM: Eddie Lamas
DATE: October 18, 2002
RE: City of Miami - Fire Stations - 4 Stations
Two (2) 2 Apparatus Bay
One (1) 3 Apparatus Bays
One (1) 6 Apparatus Bays
On Thursday, October 17th, Kristin and I met with the City of Miami Staff to review our scoring for
the presentation that took place on September 26th. Our total score was 89.5. The firm that won,
M. C. Harry & Associates had a score of 91.
..r
In reviewing the selection Committee's scoring sheets and cross referencing the scores to their
procedural questions, there is one category where we have found a deficiency in the Committee's
ranking, Part III Project Schedule and Management Plan Section (Question "C'). On Question
"C", our average score was 2 while M: C. Hang's average score was 4. We should have also scored
4. Scoring a 4 would have given us an overall score of 91.5 vs. The 91 that M.C. Harry got, making .
us the No. 1 ranked firm. Question "C" stated - "Awarding the contract to the firm would broaden
the distribution of contracts among cents ed firms." We a are a Hispanic minority certified firm, Ind
currently we have ng work with the City!
END OF MEMORANDUM
ENL:fw
cc: K. Kautz / with enclosures
2601 SOUTH BATSHORE DRIVE - 10TH FLOOR - MIAMI FL 33133 - USA - 1-305.859-2050 - FAX 1-305-959.9031
www.bamiami.com N.1-
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BERMELLO-AJAMIL ��
&PARTNERS - INC
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ARCHITECTURE ENGINEERING PLANNING INTERIO R 0 E S 1 C N Z�:.L L10 o ri: i'fi,E'FI4 FkA.I T E C T U R E
October 16, 2002
via fax & mail
Aurora Badia
City of Miami, Department of Public Works
444 Southwest 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33130
re: City of Miami Fire Stations
Dear Aurora:
We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 2"d, advising us of the city's ranking for the
selection of the prime consultant to design and engineer four (4) new fire stations in the City of
Miami. It is my understanding that the ranking was extremely close and that it is possible that the
difference between the #1 and #2 ranking might have been as close as one (1) point. My staff will
be meeting with Mr. forge Avino, Deputy Director of CIP, to review the scores.
Needless to say, we're very interested in being selected for this commission. I acknowledge that
the City Selection Committee had a difficult task in evaluating excellent proposals from different
local firms. As the third largest A&E firm in the state, with over 200 professionals based in the City
of Miami, we're not only the largest A&E in the city, but we all have a vested interest in the well
being and quality of life. in the community. Anything that we can do to be of assistance to you and
the department, just let us know. .
It would be an honor for us to have our firm continue its long standing relationship with the City
of Miami, by way of these four fire stations. As you know, we designed and engineering Fire
Station #9, located on Martin Luther King Boulevard, and our most recent fire station for the City
of Coral Gables, the Doris and Phil Stanford Fire Station on Old Cutler, was an award-winning
design. for the firm. In the event that the City decided to split the contract and award one or more
fire stations amongst the top ranked firms, we would still be interested in participating in the
program.
03- 067
2601 SOUTH SAYSHORE DRIVE - 10TH FLOOR - MIAMI FL 33133 - USA - 1-305-659-2050 - FAX 1-305-059-9530
www.banismi.com
uwwa� . �wwm
Aurora Badia
October 16, 2002
Page 2
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
W 'A
Willy A. Bermel o
President
cc: Carlos A. Gimenez, City Manager
John Jackson, Director of Public Works
cc/w/encl: Mayor and Commissioners
0:%Michelle%WPDOCS%80%2002%Badia. Aurora-1016.wpd
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