SEBASTIAN – A firm could be hired Wednesday to assess the City of Sebastian’s parking needs within its redevelopment area.
City staff is recommending the city council hire Outlier Planning and Land Design Innovations, Inc., the same firm that crafted the city’s Evaluation and Appraisal Report. Outlier was one of 13 firms to respond to the city’s request for proposals and was the highest ranked company.
The proposed contract would cost the city approximately $27,325.
The firm was not the least expensive, nor was it the most.
Prices from the prospective firms ranged from $17,865 to $29,162.
According to city records, staff believed that the lower bids came from firms that did not “substantive” experience in performing parking studies.
Other bids were in the mid-$20,000 range, but several did not include many of the expenses the city expected.
While Outlier plans to seek public input by interviewing members of the Sebastian City Council, key staff members and business owners in the redevelopment area, Walker Parking Consultants “overtly indicated” to the city it would charge extra for any presentations to be made to the council.
Neither Walker nor Timothy Haas Engineering’s proposals included plans to use the Internet to post updates, drafts or encourage feedback.
Outlier, in conducting the evaluation appraisal report, did use the Internet for such purposes and created a Web site specifically for that use.
“In general, staff felt the Walker and Haas proposals ‘nickel and dimed’ key aspects of
the project while the Outlier proposal offered a more inclusive cost and offered transparency by posting drafts of the document, making the document and the consulting team more available to the general public,” the city’s staff report state.
City Manager Al Minner has told the council that he expects the hired company to get started on the survey immediately and have the study completed by late December or in January.
Based on the parking needs assessment survey, the Sebastian City Council could prioritize parking projects within the redevelopment area.
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And the bidders were (in order of ranking):
Outlier Planning, West Palm Beach – $27,325
Walker Parking Consultants, Tampa – $24,540
Timothy Haas Engineering, Miami – $24,000
Land Design Innovations, Maitland – $28,647
Stanley Consultants, West Palm Beach – $28,985
Calvin, Giordano & Asso., West Palm Beach – $29,162
Lassiter Transportation Group, Daytona Beach – $24,160
Lansing Melbourne Group, Melbourne – $24,980
GMB Engineers & Planners, Orlando – $28,085
Lucido & Assoc., Stuart – $17,865
Culpepper & Terpening, Ft. Pierce – $18,113
The Integrity Group, Chagrin Falls, Ohio – $27,420
Rich & Assoc., Southfield, Mich. – $28,200