Miami-Dade Infrastructure, Innovation & Technology Committee Meeting - July 15, 2026
Miami-Dade Infrastructure, Innovation & Technology Committee Meeting - July 15, 2026
The Infrastructure, Innovation & Technology Committee of the Miami-Dade County Commission met on July 15, 2026, at 12:30 PM in Commission Chambers. Chairwoman Micky Steinberg presided. The meeting included discussion of several resolutions, a deferred item, and a decision to postpone budget presentations until after the mayor's proposed budget release. The committee forwarded one item to the full Board and deferred another for further analysis.
Consent Calendar
- Item 3A: Resolution authorizing additional expenditure authority of $12,879,707 for prequalification pool EVN0000187 (dewatering and tank cleaning services) for the Water and Sewer Department. Forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) with a favorable recommendation (4-0).
- Item 6A: Approval of the Clerk's summary of minutes for the committee meetings of April 15, May 13, and June 10, 2026. Approved (4-0).
Discussion Items
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Item 3D (Add-on): Resolution authorizing a supplemental agreement for construction engineering and inspection services (CEI) for the Dadeland South Intermodal Station project, increasing the contract amount to $5,467,817.92 (from $3.5 million). The contract is with BCC Engineering LLC, on a time-and-materials basis, for a duration of approximately two years. Commissioner Cohen Higgins questioned the necessity of the additional $1.9 million, noting that the project scope had expanded due to new federal electric vehicle charging and fire suppression standards, as well as design changes. She expressed concern about the pattern of scope increases without upfront cost transparency. Commissioner Lopez echoed concerns about poor planning and lack of initial cost estimates. Commissioner Hardemon asked about the original scope and why new standards were not anticipated. Deputy Director Jose Alfred Diaz of DTPW explained that the additional scope was approved by the Board in November 2025, and the CEI costs align with the construction contract extension. The item was forwarded to the BCC with a favorable recommendation (4-0).
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Item 3C: Resolution authorizing a non-competitive extension of the garbage collection and disposal services contract (Waste Management and Waste Connections) for three years, with additional expenditure authority of $19,411,303 (total modified amount $81,897,586). The current contract expires in 2028, and the extension would run through 2031. Commissioner Cohen Higgins moved to defer the item, citing concerns about the lack of competitive bidding since 2013, the monopoly of two companies, and the high dollar amount. She requested a cost analysis, a formal procurement process to test the market, and an update on the Solid Waste Department's plan to bring services in-house. Commissioner Gonzalez supported the deferral, noting the need for data from the in-house pilot program. The committee voted to defer the item to the September committee meeting. The director of Solid Waste agreed to conduct a formal solicitation and provide a cost comparison by then.
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Budget Presentations: The agenda included presentations from five departments (Communication, Information and Technology; Solid Waste Management; Water and Sewer; People and Internal Operations; Regulatory and Economic Resources). Deputy Mayor explained that the mayor's proposed budget would be released later that afternoon, so directors were not authorized to provide specific numbers. Commissioner Cohen Higgins, Commissioner Lopez, and Commissioner Gonzalez agreed that the presentations would be unproductive without budget data and moved to waive them. The committee decided to hold in-depth budget workshops in August, after the mayor's budget release, with all commissioners invited. Chairwoman Steinberg emphasized expectations for directors to be prepared with detailed vacancy reports, clear explanations of staff reductions (including transfers), and zero-based budgeting justifications.
Key Outcomes
- Item 3A: Forwarded to BCC with favorable recommendation (4-0).
- Item 3B: Award of contract for Venetian Causeway water main and sewer force main relocation to ITG Communications LLC ($3,096,425.02, 231 calendar days). Commissioner requested to add the item to the next week's BCC agenda due to time constraints; the request was noted.
- Item 3C: Deferred to September committee meeting (4-0). The Solid Waste Department will conduct a formal solicitation and provide a cost comparison, including analysis of bringing services in-house.
- Item 3D: Forwarded to BCC with favorable recommendation (4-0).
- Budget workshops: Scheduled for August; committee will not recess. All commissioners invited to participate in a committee-of-the-whole format.
Meeting Transcript
Excellent. All right, we're gonna begin our meeting of the infrastructure innovation and technology committee. Um today is the 15th, and um I welcome all of you here today. We're gonna start with a quick moment of silence, moment of reflection, and followed by the pledge led by Commissioner Cohen Higgins. Thank you so much. Today we have one of our um young students who are part of the um youth engagement program up here with us, and so we welcome Allegra. Um with that, um, do we have any additions, any changes before we set the agenda? And yes, madam chair. Um the agenda before you is the official agenda, which includes the changes in the changes memo. Also item 3D was added to the agenda. Um I'll read the title for the record. Resolution authorizing the county mayor or designee to execute supplemental agreement number one between BCC Engineering LLC and Miami Dade County for professional services agreement for construction engineering and inspection services, ISD project number E20 DTPW04, contract number CIP 207 DTPW20 CEI, bringing the total contract amount to 5,467,817.92 cents to support the Daedlin South Intermodal Station Project, authorizing the county mayor or designee to execute the same and to exercise the provisions contained therein, authorizing the use of people's transportation plan bond program funds for this project, which was added to the five-year implementation plan in February 2020. That's 3D. Okay, thank you. Um we're gonna go into reasonable opportunity to be heard. Is there anybody here from the public who wishes to speak on any item? I do not have any cards. But this is the opportunity. Seeing none, reasonable opportunity is now closed. And uh, do I have a motion to set the agenda? So moved. Second. All right, show that done by acclamation. And um now we have a few items on this agenda before we get to the discussion presentations. Um does anybody have any questions, would like to buy for Kate? Any items or ask any questions. No. Yes, please, Commissioner Cohen Higgins. Thank you, um, Madam Chair. And the item that was just added to our agenda 3D. I I'm looking at it for the first time. Um, and so I I have a few questions. It's asking for an increase in the professional services agreement um by almost two million dollars for a total contract aggregate of 5.4. Um, can you just speak to what this contract is for? I know it's for engineering construction and inspection services. Is this particular professional service provider getting $5.4 million for their professional services, or is the $5.4 million inclusive of the actual construction costs of this project? Yeah, great question. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, uh members of the committee, Jose Alfred Diaz, Deputy Director of D TPW. This is as you correctly mentioned, uh for uh for uh construction engineering and inspection services tied to the Dayland South Intermodal. Um the actual construct design build project um received some supplement uh supplemental services earlier this year. This is to match that. This is for additional scope that was added to that project consisting of uh uh charging infrastructure modifications to to the uh BRT area and general modifications around the scope of the area. Specific to your question, this is uh not tied to the construction. This is specific to the construction engineering and inspection. This is basically our inspector in the area, uh the ones that that review all the construction specs, make sure that the contractor stays on schedule and on budget, and in addition to that, uh making sure that they review all the paperwork that comes in through the project. The total allocation, this is for an additional um allocation, but the total allocation with this uh supplemental for this project. I'm sorry, I think we're this is not working well. It's uh $5.4 million in total for this vendor. Okay, and that's what I um thought you were gonna say. And so, you know, I know we do these PSAs a lot.
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