Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Trust is important. Confidence wanes when commitments are not kept, especially after promises were changed unilaterally.

8:00 PM update - "Eight bells" and no documents posted on the village web site. I have been watching off and on for the last four (4) hours - time for someone else to take the watch. I have other things to do to get ready for a full and rich day tomorrow. 

Obviously Village Staff departed for the day without completing their promise (made by the current Mayor and Council) to post the documents on the village website. The Palmetto Bay Villagers left without it getting done; let's all hope that they at least set the alarm at Village Hall!


7:00 PM update
- 24 hours prior to the advertised bid review meeting.


No documents posted on the website, contrary to multiple assurances.

Remember, the public was originally promised access to review these documents, 7 days in advance to the 5/1/2019 meeting - this was in writing (by formal resolution passed 5-0 by this current village council). It was then reduced from 7 to 1 day on April 23, 2019.

I refreshed my cache and clicked the link posted by the village: 
A copy of each received bid will be accessible on the Village website under the Procurement Division section on Tuesday, April 30, 2019https://www.palmettobay-fl.gov/418/Cone-of-Silence-for-RFPs-RFQs-Bids 
Please feel free to email a link that does provide these documents, if such a link exists. Please e-mail this link to eugene@eugeneflinn.com. And please note the date and time that you were able to view and download the bids to be reviewed on May 1. Thanks you.

Original post of 5:45 PM, 4/30/2019Another deadline has come and gone, ignored by the current Palmetto Bay leadership. Next update will be at 7:00 PM. A betting line has been opened on whether the village posts the materials promised by 7:00 PM, 11:59 PM, 9:00 AM May 1st or not at all. Gallows humor meant to replace the growing loss of confidence in a Council where even promises stated in formal resolutions are revised on a whim and even then are held to a standard that screams "commitments by the staff and council are meaningless!"

Darn, and after starting the day off on such a positive note with the morning blog post. The failure of the village to keep its commitment brought my mood crashing to earth. Surprised? No, but still I am disappointed.  So I vent. I vent with the goal of improving commitment to promises. I wonder aloud if this is part of the reason why our Village Attorney announced that he is leaving service of Palmetto Bay.

5:00 PM is generally accepted as the end of a business day (see the screen shot marked as blog exhibits 1 & 2). An apparent deadline came and went without the materials being posted. The link took me to screen that I posted next to it as blog exhibit 2.  This post went live at 5:45. Now we wait to see if the day prior means 24 hours prior or if the entire commitment made by Staff and the present Village Council was yet another scam.
                                   Blog Exhibit 1 (above -left)                        Blog Exhibit 2 (above -right)

Resolution 2019-015 provided for 7 days, approved 5-0, but then the entire Village Council Flip / Flopped at the special council meeting of April 23, 2019, drastically reducing the 7 day window for public preparation down to the day before (Agenda Item 4.B.) by the same 5-0 vote. 

The promise was originally 7 days notice. Here is what the website promised as of 5:45 PM on April 30, 2019:

A copy of each received bid will be accessible on the Village website under the Procurement Division section on Tuesday, April 30, 2019:   https://www.palmettobay-fl.gov/418/Cone-of-Silence-for-RFPs-RFQs-Bids 

The information promised was not delivered at 5:45 PM.

What does the the day before mean? Obviously not be 5:00 PM on April 30, the day prior to the May 1st scheduled meeting. 


Promises made in Resolution 2019-015:
(1) After opening of bids and study by individual staff members on the bid review committee, the review committee shall meet in a public meeting to discuss and assign bid evaluation points by individual staff members.
(2)Each bid shall be posted on the Village website and a copy of each bid shall be available for public review at Village Hall no less than seven (7) days prior to the review committee meeting.
(3) The review committee meeting shall be noticed no less than seven (7) days prior to the meeting.
(4) The bid evaluations shall be reviewed by the Council at a Council meeting for disposition as the Council sees fit in its discretion
(5)The Village Manager shall select two outside consultants, not from local government at a cost not to exceed $10,000 to participate in the five (5) member evaluation committee and the evaluation shall be completed prior to February 4, 2019.
          (underline emphasis added)

Promises made, but not kept are highlighted above. 

Resolution 2019-015 provided for 7 days, approved 5-0, but then the entire Village Council Flip / Flopped at the special council meeting of April 23, 2019, drastically reducing the 7 day window for public preparation down to the day before (Agenda Item 4.B.) by the same 5-0 vote.

PRIOR RELEVANT POST: April 26, 2019, Unsolicited bid update - committee to meet in public to review the proposals on May 1, 2019 - 7:00 PM - Flip meet Flop

So much for the language stated, but rendered hollow and meaningless through what actions (or lack of) have denied in Resolution 2019-015: 
"WHEREAS, the transparency and public awareness of the bid and acquisition process of the Village is important in building public confidence in Village government ..."  (page 1, lines 21-23 of resolution - all emphasis added)

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