FEMA - Disaster Debris Monitoring and Support Services - Re-Solicit

Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is conducting a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to procure disaster debris monitoring and support services through a federally-funded FEMA contract. The County seeks a qualified firm with extensive knowledge of FEMA and Federal Highway Administration regulations, guidelines, and operating policies to monitor and manage disaster debris collection operations, establish and operate a Debris Management Center with call center capabilities, provide oversight of up to 30 debris removal sites and 5 reduction/disposal sites with roving monitors, coordinate with federal and state agencies, deploy field inspectors and project managers, conduct training sessions, and maintain GPS tracking systems for debris documentation and reimbursement purposes. The Contractor must respond with an on-site project manager within 24 hours of disaster notification and ensure adequate staffing deployment within 72 hours. The contract solicitation was released on February 17, 2026, with a pre-solicitation meeting held on February 23, 2026, a question deadline of March 3, 2026, and proposal submissions due March 19, 2026 at 1:00 PM, with an anticipated contract award date of March 26, 2026 and a contract start date around May 5, 2026. The initial contract term is 36 months with options for two additional 12-month renewal periods, totaling a maximum of 60 months, subject to Board approval and appropriation of funds. Evaluation criteria, weighted at 100 points total, include references on projects of 500,000 cubic yards or greater (20 points), firm and key personnel qualifications with WBE/DBE consideration (20 points), diverse project experience with multiple debris types (20 points), capacity to respond to major disasters and existing pre-event contracts within 150 miles (15 points), project approach (20 points), and pricing (5 points). Required insurance includes workers' compensation at statutory limits, general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate, business auto liability of $1,000,000, and professional errors and omissions coverage of $1,000,000/$2,000,000.

Escambia County encourages participation from all segments of the business community, including small businesses, minority-owned enterprises, women-owned businesses, and disadvantaged business enterprises, with specific evaluation consideration given to WBE/DBE qualifications. The incumbent contractor is Thompson Consulting Services, LLC, which was awarded the original contract on April 22, 2021, and has exhausted all renewal options; the current contract expires in May 2026 and was most recently activated during Hurricane Sally in September 2020, generating approximately 35,000 cubic yards of debris and resulting in $7.3 million in payments. Escambia County encompasses 2,829.5 miles of roads and approximately 1,250 square miles of waterways, and the successful contractor must integrate with the County's participation in the Florida F-ROC program. The contract is FEMA-funded and therefore subject to comprehensive federal compliance requirements including prevailing wage standards, Equal Employment Opportunity provisions, debarment and suspension verification, Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment certification, Clean Air Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act compliance, Buy America preferences, domestic preference requirements, and E-Verify enrollment. No guaranteed minimum payment is offered, and pricing negotiation will occur post-award based on a provided pricing table that includes hourly rates for project managers, field supervisors, monitors, and equipment costs; the RFP does not require bid bonds or performance bonds with the initial proposal submission.