TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Jeffrey L. Oris, CEcD, Assistant City Manager
Thru: Terrence R. Moore, ICMA-CM
DATE: December 17, 2024
Title
APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION 257-24: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH CALVIN, GIORDANO & ASSOCIATES, INC., A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF SAFEBUILT, LLC, TO UNDERTAKE AN ANALYSIS OF THE CITY’S CODE ENFORCEMENT DIVISION; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT, ANY AMENDMENTS AND/OR RENEWALS THERETO, AND TAKE ANY AND ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY TO EFFECTUATE THE INTENT OF THIS RESOLUTION; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Motion to authorize the City Manager to finalize and enter into an agreement with the multi-disciplinary firm, Calvin Giordano & Associates, Inc for professional services for a Code Enforcement operational analysis in the amount of $22,000.
Body
Background:
To address the City Commission's concerns related to Code Enforcement, City staff reached out to several providers that might be able to perform an operational analysis of our Code Enforcement Division to determine if the Division is operating at its peak efficiency and with appropriate guidelines in place. Staff had the opportunity to reach out to the following seven (7) firms or individuals to see if there was interest in performing this service for the City:
1. *Calvin Giordano & Associates, Inc. (<https://cgasolutions.com/>)
2. *Metric One* (<https://marcuskellum.com/>)
3. Code Performance Consultants (<https://codeperformanceconsultants.com/>)
4. Code Consulting /AKF (<https://akfgroup.com/services/code-consulting/>)
5. Abstract H.R. (<https://www.abstracthr.com/>)
6. Chris Albury - individual (he is a Hearing Officer and Retired Code Supervisor)
7. Willie Johnson - individual (retired Code Supervisor)
Firms # 1 and 2 submitted proposals
Firms 3, 4, and 5 a request was submitted through their websites with only firm #5 calling back but not submitting a proposal.
Individuals (6 and 7) were contact by phone and expressed interest but could not respond with any request for information or a proposal before we were prepared to move on with the matter.
During the search, and upon receipt of the two proposals, It became apparent that Calvin Giordano & Associates (CGA) was the proper firm to engage for this endeavor. Not only has CGA done similar analyses for other cities, but they currently hold contracts to act as outsourced Code Compliance staff to several cities in South Florida including Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, in addition to providing supplemental Code Compliance staff to a number of other cities including (but not limited to) Oakland Park, Sea Ranch Lakes, Loxahatchee Groves. Mr. Bernard Pita, CGA's Director of Code Services, will undertake this project on behalf of the firm (and is anticipated to be available at the December 17th meeting for questions). Mr. Pita is well suited for this assignment as he not only heads CGA's Code Services, but he comes to the task with 30 of experience in Law Enforcement and 19 years of experience in Building and Zoning Code enforcement.
CGA and the City did some negotiating and did change some of the terms of the original proposal. Some where changed to satisfy the City Attorney's Office as to wording, and a flat rate of $22,000 was negotiated instead of a not to exceed number (insuring the entire analysis is done for the amount allocated). Understanding the City's desire to complete this project in an expeditious manner, CGA has submitted an agreement for approval with a Scope of Work that includes: meeting with the City's management staff, Neighborhood and Community Services Department leadership, and staff of the Code Division. Further CGA will conduct a full Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis, evaluate the connection between the City's vision and goals with that of the Division's, assess resident's and business owner's perceptions or experience with the Code Enforcement Division through a random survey, and they will perform an analysis of the code enforcement process. The assignment will culminate with the provision of a Final Report will include all of there final analysis, findings, opportunities and recommendations. CGA will begin the project as soon as possible after the execution of an agreement and will have a Final Report completed within 45 days of the end of all their surveys, interviews, investigations, and analysis.
The approval of a contract of this size ($22,000) would normally be within the $65,000 signature authority of the City Manager, however, as CGA is a multi-disciplinary firm which is owned by a national firm (SAFEBuilt), the City currently has on-going contracts with both CGA and MT Causley (another SAFEbuilt-owned firm) that have authorizations that already exceed $65,000. CGA has an on-going services contract for engineering services and MT Causley has an open agreement to provide supplemental building inspection services. Thus, this item is to allow the City Manager to enter into an agreement with CGA that will be authorize and additional $22,000 in addition to any amounts already authorized to CGA and/or MT Causley.
City Attorney Review:
City Attorney has reviewed.
Funding Source/Financial Impact:
The $22,000 fee for this endeavor will come from existing funds in the existing FY 2024-25 Code Enforcement Division budget.
Timing of Request:
The City seeks to undertake this analysis immediately so as to maximize efficiencies in the Code Enforcement process and regain the public trust in an expeditious manner.