City declines unsolicited P3 route for Melrose/Riverland Fortify projects; staff to create vendor pool for Phase 2

City staff informed the commission that two unsolicited public-private partnership (P3) proposals were received for the Fortify Lauderdale phase-1 projects (Melrose Manors and Riverland). Staff recommended against pursuing the unsolicited-proposal route for these projects at the current stage because the submissions would bifurcate a program that is at 90% design and could introduce technical and schedule risk, especially given an outstanding easement issue across the ShipMonk property that affects a shared outfall.

Staff explained the staff recommendation: because the city has advanced design to near-complete, the unsolicited proposals did not demonstrably improve schedule or cost and could fragment a tightly linked outfall and pump station design. Staff said it had evaluated the submissions quickly and provided the proposals to the commission for information. The manager’s office recommended continuing with the planned procurement timeline and establishing a qualified vendor pool through a two-step selection process; staff plans to post a prequalification solicitation this month and present award recommendations within roughly 90 days so individual projects can be competitively bid to the prequalified pool.

Commissioners asked for a clearer, high-level schedule of Phase 2 projects and for an explanation of where unsolicited proposals could be beneficial in later phases; staff agreed to provide a tranche-by-tranche timeline and to list project impediments, such as easements, that would make unsolicited P3s impractical in specific locations. Staff said the Melrose/Riverland project remained contingent on finalizing the ShipMonk easement and County stormwater permitting and that bidding is currently targeted for summer 2026 if easements and permits are secured.

Next steps: staff will proceed with a prequalified vendor pool solicitation and return with a schedule for Phase 2 projects, expected procurement milestones and a short analysis showing where unsolicited proposals could be advantageous or would create risk.