The Lake Sarah Roadway and Drainage Improvements Project aligns with the Town's Stormwater Master Plan and includes drainage improvements. The Project is located between Miami Lakeway South, Palmetto Expressway, and NW 67th Avenue. The Project includes Big Cypress Drive, Twin Sable Drive, Bamboo Street, Bamboo Court, Cypress Court, Alamanda Avenue, Silver Oaks Drive, Sea Grape Terrace and White Oak Drive in the southeast residential area of the Town.

In February of 2016, the Town received a legislative appropriation in the amount of $300,000, administered by the FDEP Division of Water Restoration Assistance to go toward this Project. The Town also received a grant in the amount of $125,000 from the South Florida Water Management District Cooperative Funding Program. Other funding opportunities are still pending, but include a proposal sent in March 2017 for $328,600 from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection 2018 Nonpoint Source Management Program 319(h) Grant.

The Town of Miami Lakes (“Town”) issued Request For Proposal (“RFP”), No. 2017-22 for construction services for Lake Sarah Roadway and Drainage Improvements Phases I, II, and III on April 7, 2017 with a closing date of May 15, 2017. As minimum qualification requirements Proposers must be licensed by the State of Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation as a General Engineering Contractor, a Certified Underground Utilities Contractor or possess a Certificate of Competency issued by the Miami-Dade County Construction Trades Qualifying Board as a General Engineer or for Specialty Engineering commensurate with the work to be performed.

The Town received six (6) responses by the due date. The Proposals were evaluated based the following six criteria, as established in the RFP:

1. Qualifications of the Proposer
2. Experience of the Proposer
3. Project Approach
4. Qualifications & Experience of the Project Team and Subcontractors
5. Financial Stability
6. Price Proposal

Procurement in performing its due diligence review prior to the meeting of the Evaluation Committee determined that one (1) Proposal, submitted by Metro Express, Inc. was non-responsive due to it missing several elements that were requested in the RFP. As this Proposal was deemed non-responsive, it was not provided to the Evaluation Committee for evaluation.

The RFP required the submission of two components: a Technical Proposal and a separately sealed Price Proposal. The Evaluation criteria afforded a maximum of 80 points for the Technical component and 125 points for the Price component for a combined total of 205 points. The Price component points were awarded based on a formula that assigns the full point value to the lowest price Proposer and a proportional share to each of the other Proposers.

The Evaluation Committee (“Committee”) comprised of the following individuals met on May 25, 2017 to evaluate the five (5) responsive Proposals and establish the ranking of the firms.

1. Carmen Olazabal, Project Manager, 4City Consulting, Chairperson for the Evaluation Committee
2. Tony Lopez, Chief of Operations
3. Carlos Acosta, Public Works Director
4. Germán Cure, Administrative Services Manager

The Committee ranked the firms as follows:

1. Acosta Tractors, Inc. (“Acosta”) – 747.72 points
2. ENCO, LLC (“ENCO”) – 681.42 points
3. Maggolc, Inc. (“Maggolc”) – 677 points
4. JVA Engineering (“JVA”) – 657.89 points
5. Florida Engineering & Development Corp. (“Florida E&D”) – 636.08 points

As a general overview the Committee agreed that all the Proposers being evaluated were fully qualified to perform the work required for the project.

Florida E&D had fifteen (15) years of experience in performing underground excavation work. However, Florida E&D's equipment list showed dated equipment. The Committee also noticed the lack of a professional engineer on the firm's Project Team.

JVA has fifteen (15) years of experience performing similar work. The Committee noted JVA would self-perform most of the Work in the RFP. However, JVA's equipment list had very few new equipment. Additionally, their proposal was missing a project schedule and the firm's qualifier was not on the Project Team.

Maggolc has eleven (11) years of experience in the field. The Committee noticed that Maggolc's equipment list was very short and that the firm would likely have to rent equipment to complete the Work. Furthermore, their Proposal was missing several elements and the Project Schedule did not reference agencies that might require a permit for this Work. Despite a weaker technical proposal, Maggolc did propose the lowest price for the entire project, netting the firm the full 125 points for their price component.

ENCO, the second ranked Proposer, submitted a strong technical proposal, but proposed the highest price for their price proposal. The Town has prior experience with ENCO as they recently completed another Town project, which was delivered earlier than expected. One of the highlights of ENCO's proposal was that they proposed to self-perform a sizable portion of the Work under the RFP. The Committee was concerned with ENCO's Project Schedule and Project Data Sheets. ENCO's Project Schedule proposed a timeline that was longer than what the Town had estimated for this Project. Additionally, the Committee felt that the projects ENCO submitted as its three (3) previous projects of similar size, scope, and complexity were similar, but did not fit exactly with the scope of this Project.

Acosta, who was selected as the highest ranked Proposer, submitted the most complete and thorough Proposal to the RFP, and provided the strongest Technical component. Acosta's Project Schedule provided sufficient details and proposed a timeline that is consistent with the scope of the project. Their Project Approach and Work Plan fit with the nature of the project and reflected a strong approach to maintaining control of the Project. The projects Acosta included with their Proposal as similar in size, scope and complexity clearly demonstrated their expertise in performing roadway and drainage projects of this nature.

For the reasons stated above, it is recommended that the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to execute a contract with Acosta Tractors, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000 for the construction of the Lake Sarah Roadway and Drainage Improvements.