Waive competitive bid for $100,000 fiber optic construction Phase 5 broadband

CITY OF CORAL GABLES ______________________ YES NO Contract ID: PSA Required: Chief Procurement Officer PART I: Suggested Vendor Service/Item Description Value PART II: Risk Management (if applicable) Date City Manager or Designee Date Department/Vendor Information Date The form must be routed for approval in the order in which approvers appear below. Department Head Signature Request for Special Procurements/Bid Waiver (Not to exceed $100,000 for supplies and services, $25,000 for construction) Section 2-691 The City Manager shall be authorized to grant special procurements/bid waivers for supplies and services in the amount not to exceed $100,000 and on construction contracts not to exceed $25,000 subject to public notice requirements in accordance with administrative regulations. All other contracts shall be made only when authorized by the city commission upon the written recommendations of the City Manager. Special Notice: All purchase orders and work orders issued via a bid waiver MUST inlcude the following statement: All work performed for the services outlined in the associated proposal or purchase order must be in compliance with all rules, regulations and laws of the City of Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, the State of Florida and the Federal Government. Lack of knowledge by the contractor shall in no way be cause for relief from responsibility. Special/Bid Waiver Procurement 405 Biltmore Way Coral Gables, FL 33134 (305) 460-5102 Requisition No. Division/ Department Dept. Contact Explanation (Supporting documentation must be attached) City Attorney's Office (if applicable) Date Finance Department / Procurement Division Revised 4/8/2025 NOTE: If a PSA is marked a required for this action then an agreement must be attached and routed for approval by the City Attorney's Office & Risk Management. BW 026-057 In 2022, the City awarded the Fiber Optic Backbone Expansion Project to Unitec, Inc., the lowest responsive/responsible bidder, IFB 2022-015, Resolution No. 2022-257. This project is part of IT Strategic Action Plan 4.1-3: Smart and Connected Districts, and was funded by the WI-FI Capital Improvement Project. Fiber construction kicked off in November 2022, and all the four fiber corridor Phases were completed one year ahead of time, on budget, with high quality and excellent vendor performance and responsiveness to project needs as well as emergencies and repairs. Unitec provided a very competitive cost, less than half of their closest competitor, saving costs to the City and leaving enough funds available for future fiber corridors, i.e.: Phase 5 (South Ponce and US-1 corridors). Unitec provided a very professional and responsible team of highly qualified/experienced engineers and technicians who worked very well with City teams (IT, PW, DS, FD). Besides our City, Unitec was also awarded by other municipalities in Florida for similar fiber construction projects. Unitec's team has gained intricate knowledge of our City's technology & telecom infrastructure, construction codes, permitting requirements, and processes. For the above reasons, we strongly recommend continuing using this contractor to build the next phase of the Fiber backbone project: Phase 5 (South Ponce and US-1 corridors), which will address time-sensitive public safety and connectivity needs at the South Ponce/Bird Rd/US-1 corridors, bringing resilient and secure city-owned high-speed communications to critical facilities and intersections such as: FS2, Backup 911 PSAP, Passport Office, and sensitive intersections (Bird Rd, LeJeune, Douglas Rd, Red Rd, Grand Ave, Granada, etc.) Raimundo Rodulfo Digitally signed by Raimundo Rodulfo Date: 2026.02.04 12:15:20 -05'00' 2/4/2026 Peter J. Iglesias Digitally signed by Peter J. Iglesias Date: 2026.02.05 16:40:28 -05'00' Cristina M. Suárez Digitally signed by Cristina M. Suárez Date: 2026.02.06 10:25:47 -05'00' Marjorie E. Tapia Digitally signed by Marjorie E. Tapia Date: 2026.02.06 14:51:42 -05'00' Celeste S. Walker-Harmon Digitally signed by Celeste S. Walker-Harmon Date: 2026.02.04 12:53:42 -05'00' Innovation & Tech. Raimundo Rodulfo Fiber Construction 1,314,000 Unitec, Inc.