Dedicated to Excellence . . .
People Serving People
Purchasing Division • 501 Harrison Avenue, Room 238 (32401) ▪ Phone 850-691-4902 ▪ www.panamacity.gov
Request for Proposals (RFP)
PC24-020
Downtown Marina Redevelopment
The City of Panama City, Florida, a Florida municipal corporation located in Bay County, Florida
(“City”) is requesting proposals from responsible and responsive firms to provide a turnkey operation
for the redevelopment of the Downtown Marina that may include, but is not limited to, the design,
permitting, financing, construction and management or lease of the Downtown Marina. The City may
select a proposer or proposers to enter into negotiations for the redevelopment of the Downtown
Marina, and proposers must demonstrate the requisite knowledge, experience, technical expertise,
organizational and financial capability to perform the services requested under this RFP. No
reimbursement will be made by the City for any costs associated with providing a proposal or for
providing additional information as a result of requests for more information or as a result of
negotiations.
Proposals will be received until 2:00 PM CT on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at which time they will
be opened in City Hall, Lower Level, Room 10, located at 501 Harrison Avenue, Panama City, FL
32401.
The Request for Proposals (“RFP”), including all specifications and proposal forms, including
Addenda, if any, will be posted on the City’s website https://www.panamacity.gov/bids.aspx and the
City’s Bonfire Portal https://panamacity.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities.
Bids should be submitted digitally, online through the City of Panama City’s Bonfire Portal at
https://panamacity.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities. All Bidders must be registered with
the Bonfire Portal. For assistance with registering or bid submission, please contact the Purchasing
Division’s contracts administrator Johnnie Gallegos at jgallegos@panamacity.gov.
No proposal may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after the scheduled closing date for the
receipt of proposals.
The City shall accept the proposal of the responsive and responsible Proposer that best meets the
needs of the City, taking into consideration, among other things, the financial responsibility of the
Proposer, the design and operational philosophy, the proposed plan for financing and construction, the
proposed process for negotiating the agreement and/or lease terms, capability to perform the
agreement on a timely basis, previous satisfactory performance, and such other abilities of the
Proposer that the City, in its sole discretion, determines will enable the Proposer to perform effectively
and efficiently.
The City of Panama City reserves the right to negotiate with one or more proposers, to reject any one
or all proposals, or any part of any proposal, to waive any informality in any proposal, and to award a
contract and/or lease deemed to be in the best interest of the City.
Johnnie Gallegos
Acquisition/Bid Specialist
City of Panama City
Table of Contents
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
General Conditions
Overview
Summary Scope of Services
Terms of Agreement
Proposal Process Timeline
Proposal Submission Requirements
Litigation/Judgements
Experience
Selection Process
Evaluation and Award Criteria
Resolution of Protests
Cone of Silence
Non-Collusion
Proposal Withdrawal
Non-Appropriations
City Obligation to Construct Adjacent Slips
JOE PCOZ, LLC’s Right of First Use
Appendix A: Sovereignty Submerged Lands Lease No. 030027071 recorded in OR BK 3521, Pages
217-233 on 6/18/2013 and Corrective Deed of Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust
Fund of the State of Florida recorded in OR BK 3579 Pages 1655-1660 on 1/22/14
Appendix B: Drawings of the Downtown Marina and Engineering Reports.
Appendix C: Ground Lease between JOE PCOZ, LLC and CITY OF PANAMA CITY dated 8/25/20
Appendix D: Design Agreement between JOE PCOZ, LLC and CITY OF PANAMA CITY dated
10/2/23 and Letter with City Approval of the Conceptual Design of Panama City Marina
NW Basin dated 1/12/24
Appendix E: Letters dated October 20, 2022 and December 5, 2022 between City and JOE PCOZ,
LLC concerning construction of the Temporary Adjacent Slips structures.
Please email Johnnie Gallegos at purchaing@panamacity.gov and a link will be provided to you with
the referenced appendices information.
3
I. GENERAL CONDITIONS
A. The City of Panama City, Florida, a Florida municipal corporation located in Bay County,
Florida (“City”) is requesting proposals from responsible and responsive firms to provide a
turnkey operation for the redevelopment of the Downtown Marina that may include, but is not
limited to, the design, permitting, financing, construction and management or lease of the
Downtown Marina. Proposers must demonstrate the requisite knowledge, experience,
technical expertise, organizational and financial capability to perform the services requested
under this RFP. No reimbursement will be made by the City for any costs associated with
providing a proposal or for providing additional information as a result of requests for more
information or as a result of negotiations. The City may select a proposer or proposers to enter
into negotiations with for the redevelopment of the Downtown Marina.
B. The Downtown Marina is generally described as a publicly owned commercial docking facility
generally consistent with the provisions of the Sovereignty Submerged Lands Lease attached
in Appendix A (“Commercial Marina”). Any redevelopment of the Downtown Marina should be
a continuation of its historic function as a Commercial Marina. The Downtown Marina is that
area described in the Sovereignty Submerged Lands Lease and the Corrective Deed as
provided in Appendix A herein. The Downtown Marina has a land use designation of
“Public/Institutional” on the City’s Future Land Use Map.
C. The Proposal should be submitted digitally, online through the City of Panama City’s Bonfire
Portal at https://panamacity.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities. All Bidders must
be registered with the Bonfire Portal. For assistance with registering or bid submission, please
contact the Purchasing Division’s Acquisition/Bid Specialist Johnnie Gallegos at
jgallegos@panamacity.gov.
D. Specifications are open to public inspection and may be obtained from City’s website at
www.panamacity.gov/bids.aspx or through the City’s website Bonfire Portal at
panamacity.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities.
E. The City of Panama City reserves the right to negotiate with one or more proposers, to reject
any one or all proposals, or any part of any proposal, to waive any informality in any proposal,
and to award a contract and/or lease deemed to be in the best interest of the City. All proposals
submitted will be required to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations,
codes, and laws. Also, all proposals submitted will be required to comply with all applicable
equal employment opportunity laws and regulations.
F. Direct all inquiries regarding this RFP in writing to either Johnnie Gallegos at
jgallegos@panamacity.gov, or via the City’s Bonfire Portal. The deadline to submit questions
is Wednesday April 3, 2024, at 5:00 p.m., CT. All written inquiries and responses will be
submitted as addenda and posted on the City’s website and Bonfire Portal. Interested parties
are encouraged to register with “Notify Me” on the City’s website to ensure notification of
postings. It is the sole responsibility of the proposer to determine if any addenda have been
issued and posted to the City’s website and the City’s website Bonfire Portal.
G. From the date of release of this solicitation until the recommendation by the City Manager to
the City Commission of a proposer or the recommendation to reject all proposers, no contact
with Purchasing Division’s employees, City personnel, or elected officials related to this
solicitation is permitted (see Article XII). Direct all communications to the Contracts
Administrator listed above. Any such contact may result in the disqualification of the proposer’s
submittal; provided, however, the Cone of Silence does not apply to some communications as
set forth in Article XII.
4
All changes, modifications, or interpretations shall be handled by the Purchasing Division. In no
case will verbal communication between the City and a proposer override written
communications or documentation. All communications must be in writing to be considered part
of this RFP.
H. Each proposer, prior to submitting a proposal, shall become fully informed as to the extent and
character of the work required. No consideration will be granted for any alleged
misunderstanding of the service or material to be furnished or work to be performed, it being
understood that the submission of a proposal is an agreement with all the items and conditions
referred to herein.
I. Proposals will be evaluated on experience, references, staffing capacity, construction and
development plan, proposed process for negotiating management or lease terms, services to be
provided, and any other relevant factors as determined to be in the best interest of the City. The
City is not seeking a price or fee from proposers. See Article X.
J. Proposals shall be binding upon the proposer and irrevocable for 90 calendar days following the
RFP opening date. Any proposal in which a proposer shortens the acceptance period may be
rejected.
K. Neither the City nor its representatives shall be liable for any expenses incurred in the
preparation of a response to this RFP. Proposers should prepare their proposals simply and
economically, providing a straightforward and concise description of their proposal and their
ability to meet the requirements. All information requested shall be submitted. Failure to submit
all information requested may result in a proposal being considered “non-responsive”, and
therefore rejected.
L. This solicitation is subject to all legal requirements contained in the applicable Panama City
Ordinances and Resolutions, as well as all applicable County, State and Federal statutes. Where
conflict exists between this solicitation and these legal requirements, the authority shall prevail
in the following order: Federal, State, and local.
M. The City reserves the right to:
1. Waive or modify any irregularities in proposals received after prior notification to the
proposer.
2. Request clarification and additional information from any proposer during the evaluation
process.
3. Negotiate with one or more selected proposers.
4. Negotiate with the selected proposer or proposers to eliminate services proposed or to
include further services not identified in this RFP.
5. In the event of the termination of negotiations with one or more proposers, to enter into
negotiations with other qualified proposers that submitted acceptable proposals or with JOE
PCOZ, LLC pursuant to the Ground Lease, rather than redoing the RFP process.
6. Re-advertise with either an identical or a revised scope of work or cancel requirements in
their entirety.
7. Utilize any and all ideas submitted unless legal patent or proprietary rights cover those
5
