Posted on Sat, Mar. 31, 2012
The sudden resignation of Miami Beach’s long-time procurement director has delayed a project to redevelop the Miami Beach Convention Center and 52 surrounding acres, and raised questions about the city’s process of selecting qualified developers.Gus Lopez submitted a letter of resignation Friday after he was told he would be fired, City Manager Jorge Gonzalez told The Miami Herald.
Gonzalez said Lopez was to be fired due to “lost confidence” in his ability to do his job, “inappropriate” handling of a “personnel matter,” and “insubordination” with his supervisor, Chief Financial Officer Patricia Walker.
“In the last several months we’ve been documenting his performance and his ability to handle what his boss was telling him to do,” Gonzalez said. “Over time it just got worse.”
Gonzalez would not comment on whether he had concerns that Lopez had acted inappropriately in the handling of the ongoing process to short-list a group of development teams to compete for the ability to redevelop what the city is calling the Miami Beach Convention Center District.
Lopez could not be reached for comment Saturday.
As a result of Lopez’s resignation, a March 29 deadline for developers to submit proof of qualifications in a sealed package was pushed back to April 23. The deadline extension — the second in the span of a week — has frustrated some developers.
Lopez has been the city’s director of procurement for more than a decade, ensuring that businesses adhere to the terms of their city contracts and handling sealed bids for multimillion-dollar deals, such as waste hauling and parking services.
His resignation couldn’t have come at a worse time for the city.
Miami Beach is in the middle of a push to redevelop its convention center and surrounding acreage, which includes the old Jackie Gleason Theater, City Hall and the 17th Street parking garage. City officials hope to lure prominent development teams to redesign and rebuild the area and largely finance the rejuvenation of its aging convention center, which has been steadily losing business for more than a decade.
Miami Beach commissioners are now expected to choose a list of four or five development teams in June to design master plans and negotiate with the city. Those teams will then compete against each other.
Voters will likely need to approve long-term public land leases, a bed-tax hike on hotel guests and an increase in height limits for the project to be realized.
At least one sealed package was returned due to the latest extension, Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said Miami Beach’s chief deputy city attorney in charge of procurement contracts and a senior official from the city’s finance department will handle Lopez’s workload as the city searches for a new procurement director. He said finding a replacement is “urgent.”
Gonzalez said interested developers should remain confident in the city’s handling of the selection process.
“We encourage their interest and hope they will continue to submit an application at the appropriate time when the deadline is reached,” he said. “We don’t expect any more delays.”
CENTRAL FLORIDA CHAPTER OF NIGP 
Leave a comment