Grant Administrative Services for CDBG-DR

Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP 2026-09) to procure comprehensive grant administration services for Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) funding allocated to the North Florida Regional Emergency Shelter Project, a 125,000-square-foot regional emergency shelter designed to accommodate 1,436 evacuees across a 12-county region. The scope of services includes environmental review, procurement document preparation, financial record maintenance, Fair Housing compliance, Davis-Bacon wage monitoring, monthly and quarterly reporting to the Florida Department of Commerce, Section 3 reporting and compliance, monitoring responses, and project closeout documentation. Qualified respondents must demonstrate at least 20 years of experience administering CDBG-DR projects, provide staff with relevant CDBG-DR experience, submit client reference letters from communities served between 2015 and present, and propose a detailed lump sum fee with comprehensive explanation of the fee basis. The evaluation criteria award 20 points for the firm's years of CDBG-DR administration experience, 25 points for staff experience, 25 points for the firm's approach to proposed tasks and team availability, 20 points for client references, and 10 points for the proposed fee structure. Proposals must be submitted in sealed format with one original and three copies to the Clerk to the Board by April 20, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., or through the County's online portal at suwanneecountyfl.bonfirehub.com, with the RFP opening scheduled for May 20, 2025, at 10:05 a.m. at the Suwannee County Administration Conference Room in Live Oak, Florida; the deadline for submitting questions is April 10, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.

Respondents must comply with extensive federal contracting requirements outlined in 2 CFR Part 200 and demonstrate compliance with provisions including the Davis-Bacon Act, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, Clean Air Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act environmental standards, debarment and suspension verification through the SAM system, and Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment certifications. The solicitation requires affirmative engagement with minority businesses, women's business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms, with Section 3 Housing and Urban Development Act compliance mandating that 25 percent of total project hours be worked by Section 3 workers and 5 percent by targeted Section 3 workers for CDBG awards exceeding $200,000. Bidders must provide proof of workers' compensation and liability insurance of at least one million dollars each, submit sworn statements regarding public entity crimes, comply with E-Verify requirements, and execute anti-collusion, conflict of interest, debarment, and failure to perform certifications. No specific budget range or award value is disclosed in the procurement documents; contract pricing is competitive and subject to evaluation based on the proposed lump sum fee component. A cone of silence is in effect from the advertisement date until contract award, prohibiting communications between bidders and County Commissioners, employees, or selection committee members outside of the Procurement Department. The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, negotiate with qualified respondents, and cancel or re-advertise the solicitation if deemed in the County's best interest.