(To Be Heard After Public Hearings) Evaluation Committee Meeting and Delegation of Authority to execute Agreements to County Administrator - Lobbyist Services (Federal Government) for Local Government General Legislative Issues – RFP-KM-21-065 – Responding Firms Gray Robinson, P.A. and Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc. – Not to Exceed $90,000.00

5:37:15You got two minutes.

5:37:21Mm-hmm.

5:37:25Oh I don't know if I can do that in this a bit.

5:37:33Good evening. My name is Kim Miller, Pasco County Senior Purchasing Agent, and I'll be today's evaluation committee meeting facilitator. Today's evaluation meeting will be to discuss and score the request for proposal RFPKM 21065, Federal Lobbyist Services for Local Government Legislative Issues. We are here to evaluate the proposals received for the Federal Lobbyist Services. Each commissioner will voice their findings, questions, concerns,

5:38:03and comments that have developed while individually evaluating and scoring the submitted proposals. We will go through each firm's proposal one at a time in alphabetical order, which will be Gray Robinson PA and Van Skoyak Associates Incorporated. Following the evaluations, each commissioner will finalize their score sheets for each firm as outlined in the RFP scoring criteria. The five areas that have been scored are Tab A, Statement of Interest and Introduction, Tab B, Project Understanding

5:38:33and Approach, Tab C Project Team and Past Experience, Tab D, Location and Workload, and Tab E, Exceptions to the RFP. The scores will be Collected and compiled by purchasing, and the results will be shared on the screen. After the tabulation is complete, the commissioners will review and discuss the overall scoring and make a motion to either reject all proposals and resolicit, request oral presentations, or move forward with award to the highest scoring firm. Um does anyone have any questions before we start?

5:39:06Okay, so we're gonna start with tab A for Gray Robinson. So I'll just go through each tab and if the commissioners have any comments on that section, I'll just go from Commissioner Moore over and um you can make comments at that time. So for Gray Robinson, um tab A, which is the statement of interest and introduction. Just anyone. Commissioner Moore.

5:39:33Mr. Moore. Uh uh I'm sorry, repeat what was your question to me?

5:39:37Um we're gonna go through each tab. So if you have any comments on on like tab A for Gray Robinson, you can say your comments, or if you don't have any comments we can move to.

5:39:48No, no, I I appreciate how many comments. Um I honestly I I don't think we should hire either of 'em, but that's just me.

5:39:59Commissioner Starkey. Do you have any comments? I'm

5:40:05sorry, I'm still kind of smarting from that last thing. It's been a long day, I

5:40:09think.

5:40:10Okay.

5:40:11So we're going we're starting with Gray Robinson. We're gonna go through all their tabs to see if Either one of you have comments regarding

5:40:18it. Can we just submit the I'm not sure I like that process if that's the way you're gonna do this.

5:40:22Can we can we just get their scoring? Yeah.

5:40:26Yeah. Does anyone have any comments regarding the firms? I'm just do this is how normal how we go through the RFPs because you ask them to give um certain criteria. So I just want to make sure. Yeah, no, you're trying to go fast. It's a s so if you have your scoring sheets we can you can turn them in and then we can discuss after once you see the scores.

5:40:45Well m Mr. Chair? Yeah,

5:40:47sir.

5:40:48Thank you, sir. Um you know I'm gonna I'm emailing mine in, but um

5:40:55Just a quick discussion. Um I know because we go through this process again about a federal lobbyist, um I still have concerns um seeing what our lack of return on investment was last time. I know there's earmarks that have uh you know that the current president has added earmarks again so there's possibilities of getting things. Um and you know I just want to make sure we're gonna get the best return on our investment for our citizens and I mean and I I just love to hear from the rest of the board. Do we

5:41:26feel that we're going to get the best return on investment? Either company, because they're both Listen, they're both good organizations, I think you know I and I get that and I appreciate it, but Besides setting up meetings, which we had another con another um quote vendor or contractor that helped set those meetings as well, what did we get last time? Um Do you guys feel honestly feel it's worth us making this hire?

5:41:55Um Commissioner O Commissioner Oakley And I'm sorry I have through all this I have managed to lose my score sheet so I have extras. Okay. Um Yeah, so uh you know, I chair the federal committee at um Florida Association of Counties and um have Uh interacted with other counties federal lobbyists on um and heard all the things that they have done for other counties. And I I think that is a great question to ask these guys.

5:42:25um and ask Mr Glenn how he and the other gentleman that's here Um if they would come up and s and let um all of us know what a federal lobbyist can do for a county and what they've done for other counties so you can you can hear what that is. I there are there are counties in the state that have Multiple federal lobbyists. And um they taught one of the uh subjects that comes to my mind is dredging. And

5:42:56um That's a federal issue. Um Then you have the uh Flooding um The FEMA maps you have The bigger waters, you have Wioa, you have the highway um transportation plan that's coming, there's all kinds of ways if we learned how to engage better, we could be effective in advocacy for things that are good for our county. Besides earmarks that are coming back.

5:43:26Right. Mr. Chairman Mariano. Thank you, sir. Commissioner Starkey, I do appreciate that and and the good comments on you know from you. I just remember again we went this is kind of the I hate to say it, but it it's Kind of what we were sold on last time around too and I we didn't see Did we see one I don't think we saw one dollar? Mr. Biology can step in. I mean did Besides setting up some meanings that we Get anything? And and I and we have such good contacts,

5:43:56Commissioner Starkey, Commissioner Mariano. I know you spent a lot of time up in DC and it's great appreciated by all of us. And you know, yourselves and and and myself included, it there's I can call people in DC as well. Just you know, if we need to set up a meeting or have a one-on-one conversation like you guys have done. So I it's my fear, what are we gonna see this time around Besides setting up meetings that I honestly think that Many of us have the ability to do on our own. No,

5:44:27because we didn't get anything. Let's just be honest. We didn't get anything. We got nothing.

5:44:33I don't think we um utilize the resource as much as we could have and I think that that's part is our fault. Um I think we and I think we need to learn how to use the resource better. Um I certainly don't think we would have gotten the Ridge Road permit if we hadn't had uh a lobbyist up in uh DC. Now granted that wasn't this lobbyist, although he I think he did help a little bit. But um these are these are uh

5:45:04And our other firm wasn't a lobbyist, it was a permit expediter.

5:45:08A permit uh whatever they were. Correct.

5:45:09Okay.

5:45:09Permit expediter. Oh yeah. So they're going to be able to do that. May I ask um Mr. Glenn to come up and talk about the roles a l a federal lobbyist can play, and then we'll ask the same question from the other guy.

5:45:20Um well the from Gray Robinson, he had to catch a flight, so he's not here. So we normally have to go through the scoring process first and then Then we do oral presentations, but that wouldn't be an option today because they're not both here today. Oh

5:45:34okay.

5:45:34An oral presentation from both of them.

5:45:36Right. But we have to go through the scoring process for us. It's just a process that you have to go through first and then you would recommend an oral presentation.

5:45:44And I will say just on my behalf that um Mr. Glenn was very helpful for me. Uh in dealing with and learning about all things relative to um apprenticeships. And uh things that were happening in Washington. He r he communicated with me regularly. And I would say that he even continued that after he wasn't even on our payroll. So I'm very appreciative of the communication and the updates and the information that he sent me regularly. I would

5:46:14never have had time to figure out how to find out what was coming. Um, you know, I was able to go to Washington. And change some federal law for um that allowed AMSGALs to compete. Um for for money. And um that would I don't think I would have been able to do that without help. So um Again, I don't I don't think we were as um

5:46:39I don't think I don't think we took advantage of that opportunity as much as we could have and I'm sorry you're not gonna be able to hear what they've done for other counties, but I I can certainly have some commissioners call you and tell you how they use their lobbyists and instruct us on how better To uh get some things that we need from Washington. One one of which may have been helping to pay for overpass.

5:47:04I'm waiting on her

5:47:05to finish, Mr. Moore. The overpass.

5:47:09Okay, Mr.

5:47:10Mr Chairman

5:47:11Mariano.

5:47:12Thank you, sir. Um sorry. Uh I I'd love to hear from um I mean and I appreciate uh thank you for those comments, Commissioner Starkey. Um Commissioner Mariano, you're part of the NATO as well. I mean what are your thoughts on

5:47:30Mr. Chairman Mariano. I'm sorry, what? Mr. Murray. Um I I will say this, you know, to do do to to invest in this, you it can't be a one-year deal. It it takes time. Um I I think you know Har Harry when we had him up there he was he was tremendous taking us around Helped me with I think five meetings, one trip we had up there. Um the communication, the the opportunity right now could be even even better than is now that airbags are coming through as well. Um Yeah, we we've got some federal

5:48:00needs. I think if we're gonna do this, I think it's this is even more important than th than the state. As far as the lobbyist goes. Uh but it's gonna take time, it's gonna take that commitment to do it for a few years to get something back. You're not gonna get chances are you may now that the ear earmarks, you may get something in a year, but you gotta give you some time Uh for a couple of years to go through it. So I I think it's very worthwhile doing We didn't have the substantial success to say okay. Here's what we got back in dollars. We didn't get that. But I think the opportunities there it just takes time. You just can't go up there one year and

5:48:30expect it.

5:48:33So you're saying I gave you guys too much credit for set appointments on the skip?

5:48:37Uh say that again, please.

5:48:39I was giving you kakudos earlier.

5:48:45Yeah, I

5:48:46just

5:48:47want to see the format.

5:48:52Form.

5:48:57So have y'all scored? these two gentlemen?

5:49:01I better redo mine because I don't have my

5:49:04You have or you have? I have.

5:49:11I've scored, but I'm not sure.

5:49:19Do you want our score sheets?

5:49:21Yes. If I don't know what the county chairman was gonna say.

5:49:26You need both sheets?

5:49:27No, I just need the score sheet.

5:49:29Just this

5:49:29one? I think I gave my email to Commissioner Moore for his score sheet.

5:49:43Here's my

5:49:47Yeah, yeah.

5:49:50Can you recount them first?

5:49:57I'll start putting these in while Commissioner Starkey's doing hers.

5:50:11Like you might phone.

5:50:36Like this one.

5:51:15Okay, yeah. Yeah.

5:51:21Wait

5:51:21two

5:51:21weeks.

5:51:22Commissioner Yeah.