SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Authorize purchase orders to JPI, Beryl Project Engineering, Willdan Engineering, and CAP Government, Inc. for emergency services related to inspection and plan review services for initial term of December 1, 2025, through November 30, 2026, with three, one-year renewal options pursuant to Invitation to Bid (ITB) No. 38-25 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. (consent)
Body
SUMMARY:
The Planning & Development Department requests authorization to award contracts for inspection and plan review services in accordance with Invitation to Bid (ITB) No. 38-25. This solicitation was issued to supplement the City’s staff and existing contractors by providing additional capacity in response to storm-related events and natural disasters. ITB 38-25 was formally advertised on June 6, 2025, and eight responsive bids were received by the submission deadline of July 8, 2025. Using a comprehensive evaluation process, the lowest responsive and responsible bidders were identified.
The Planning & Development Department, in collaboration with the Procurement Division, recommends contract awards to the following vendors under each service category:
Category 1: Inspection Services
• Primary: JPI
• Secondary: Beryl Project Engineering
• Tertiary: Willdan Engineering
Category 2: Plan Review Services
• Primary: JPI
• Secondary: CAP Government, Inc.
• Tertiary: Willdan Engineering
These contracts will support post-storm recovery efforts by providing plan review and building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, structural, and site inspections. The services will help ensure that post-storm activities comply with Florida Statutes Chapter 468, Part XII, the Florida Building Code, the City’s Floodplain Management Ordinance, and other applicable regulations, as well as National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Community Rating System (CRS) requirements and FEMA documentation standards, particularly for substantial damage assessments in Special Flood Hazard Areas.
Key service expectations include:
• Providing additional plan review capacity to address increased post-storm permit applications related to repair and reconstruction.
• Conducting timely post-storm inspections following completion of the City’s initial windshield survey to support damage and substantial damage assessments.
• Assigning a designated substantial damage assessments lead to coordinate with the City’s Floodplain Administrator, Building Official, and Assistant Building Official and to triage field issues in real time.
• Ensuring inspectors maintain a regular presence at the Planning & Development office (reporting at least twice daily) and are available Monday through Friday, with potential weekend work after major storm events.
Pinellas County has since issued its own solicitation for on-call post-storm professional services, which will also be available as a resource to the City. The City’s ITB 38-25 was issued in advance of the County’s process in anticipation of these needs, and establishing a City-specific contract provides important benefits from a resource management and continuity-of-operations perspective. A dedicated contract allows the City to directly schedule and prioritize work, engage supplemental inspection and plan review services for smaller or localized storm events without competing with countywide demands, and, during larger regional disasters, leverage both the City’s and County’s contracts to expand capacity and maintain service levels. This layered contracting approach improves resiliency and gives the City greater flexibility to match resources to the scale and location of storm impacts.
Selected firms will be required to recuse themselves from evaluating any property for which their firm has provided design or consulting services. Services will be activated on an as-needed basis and only upon issuance of a formal Notice to Proceed, allowing the City to scale resources quickly and efficiently following storm-related emergencies.
Since these are for as needed services in the event of an emergency, services exceeding $100,000.00 resulting from a disaster will be brought forward to Council.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
Inspection and plan review services not related to emergencies/hurricanes (i.e., normal operations) will continue to be coded to the department’s operating codes as originally budgeted.
For emergency use, expenditures will be tracked using emergency codes assigned to each user fund with the intent to seek reimbursement where applicable.
USE OF RESERVE FUNDS:
N/A
STRATEGIC PRIORITY:
Approval of the purchase order supports several Strategic Plan Objectives, including:
1.3 Adopt responsive levels of service for public facilities and amenities and identify resources required to sustain that level of service.
1.4: Foster safe and healthy communities in Clearwater through first class public safety and emergency response services.
Additionally, approval supports the broader priority area of Community Well-Being: Ensure Exceptional Communities and Neighborhoods Where Everyone Can Thrive, by providing additional resources to the Planning & Development Department that help maintain continuity of core services, expedite post-storm inspections and plan reviews, and reduce disruption for affected property owners and neighborhoods.
