LTC 16-2002 CITY Of MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No.
To:
From:
Subject:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez ~ ~//
City Manager
ENHANCED STRUCTURAL PLANS REVIEVV SERVICES
Date: January 22, 2002
As you are aware, the Building Department has been contracting for Structural Plans
Review services provided by an outside engineering consultant on a regular basis for the
past two years, while continuing recruitment efforts to hire an additional Structural Plans
Examiner. Due to high demand in the market for structural engineers and stringent
requirement for certification of engineers as structural plan reviewers by the Miami-Dade
County Board of Rules & Appeals (BOP, A), the recruitment efforts, so far, have not yielded
any qualified applicant. The vacant Structural Plans Examiner position, combined with the
limited capacity of the current outside Structural Consultant, in terms of number of plans
reviewed in a week, occasionally result in two-to-three weeks of backlog in structural plan
review process.
In an effort to provide an expedited solution to the above noted situation, short-term and
long-term plans are being executed. To implement a long-term solution, I have directed the
Procurement Division to issue a new Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Structural Plans
Review Services. If the quality and number of responses to the RFQ are satisfactory, the
intent is to select multiple engineering firms as qualified Structural Consultants. The
Building Department will assign plans to multiple firms, on an as-needed basis, thereby
reducing the structural plans review turn-around times. On January 16, 2002, the
Procurement Division issued the RFQ, and it is anticipated that the selection of qualified
firms will be presented to the City Commission at the April 10, 2002 meeting.
On a short-term basis, in an effort to immediately address the backlog, I have directed the
Building Department to contract with a qualified engineering firm who can provide
Structural Plans Review Services, on an interim-basis, while the RFQ process is underway.
I have executed a Professional Services Agreement for Structural Plans Review Services,
not to exceed $25,000, with the firm of Pistorino & Alam, Consulting Engineers, Inc. Said
services will commence on 2/4/2002.
If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.
JMG\CC~\(~hd
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