MILTON — Santa Rosa County may adopt a new procedure for ranking proposals following the fallout of last month’s selection of a new manager for the Navarre Beach fishing pier.
County Commissioner Lane Lynchard has developed a procedure, which, had it been in place last month, could have avoided the ongoing legal action filed against the county related to the pier contract.
Lynchard’s plan would have each of the five commissioners select three proposals for consideration without designating any rank at this time. The three overall proposals with the most votes would move on to the final ranking.
Commissioners would then vote for their first choice from the three finalists.
“It’s adding another layer, but it’s by necessity,” Lynchard said.
Read a summary of the proposal. >>
Pasco Gibson and Yolanda Wells, who last month were ranked as the top choice to manage the pier, filed a lawsuit Wednesday to prevent the county from negotiating with any other firm unless a deal cannot be reached with them first.
Yvonne Harper of Navarre said the county’s current ranking system is very subjective, and the proposed revised one could be, too. She would like to see each proposal include the criteria the board will use when making a final decision.
“That way, everybody knows going into it. The people submitting the proposals understand what you’re looking for, and then that will mitigate any personal biases, be it positive or negative,” Harper said.
Lynchard said he also believes the county needs to include more specificity in its request for proposals.
Commissioners are expected to vote on approving the new ranking process at Thursday’s meeting.
Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.