Grant Administrative Services for CDBG-DR

Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners is requesting proposals through RFP No. 2026-11 for grant administration services to manage Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) funding for the North Florida Regional Emergency Shelter Project, a 125,000-square-foot regional emergency shelter with capacity for 1,436 evacuees serving a 12-county region in North Florida. The selected firm will provide comprehensive grant administration services including environmental review activities, procurement document preparation, financial record maintenance, Fair Housing compliance, project monitoring, and reporting to the Florida Department of Commerce. Key deliverables include complete project management and reporting with separate tracking by funding source, ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations governing CDBG-DR funds. Respondents must submit one original and three copies of all required documents by May 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., with the RFP opening scheduled for 10:05 a.m. at the Suwannee County Administration Conference Room, 2nd Floor, 224 Pine Ave SW, Live Oak, Florida 32064. Questions must be submitted by May 15, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Evaluation criteria are weighted as follows: firm's years of experience administering CDBG-DR projects (20 points), staff experience with CDBG-DR projects (25 points), proposed approach to tasks and team availability (25 points), client reference letters from 2015 to current (20 points), and proposed fee or fee basis submitted as a lump sum (10 points). Required qualifications include proof of workers' compensation and liability insurance in the amount of one million dollars each and compliance with E-Verify employment eligibility requirements.

Respondents must complete and submit mandatory compliance forms including anti-collusion statements, debarment certifications, failure-to-perform questionnaires, and conflict-of-interest disclosures under penalty of perjury. All contracts must comply with federal requirements outlined in 2 CFR 200 Appendix 2, including Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage standards, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act requirements, Clean Air Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act compliance, and Section 3 benchmarks requiring that 25 percent of total project hours be performed by Section 3 workers with 5 percent by targeted Section 3 workers for CDBG awards exceeding $200,000. The contractor must maintain affirmative action requirements for minority businesses, women-owned businesses, and labor surplus area firms, and maintain domestic preference for United States-manufactured products. A cone of silence is in effect from the advertisement date through contract award, prohibiting communications between bidders and County officials or selection committee members regarding the solicitation. No incumbent vendors or award values are specified in the solicitation documents. The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, negotiate with qualified respondents, or cancel the solicitation.