County OKs new security contract
Deal with Atlanta firm puts armed guards in Palm Tran locations.
WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County’s Palm Tran bus yards now will be patrolled by armed guards as part of a oneyear, $1.7-million security contract approved Tuesday by Palm Beach County commissioners.
In an emergency vote placed on the agenda for Tuesday’s workshop, the commission voted unanimously to pick Atlanta-based private security firm Norred and Associates.
Norred replaces USI Security Service, which had held a two-year contract since February 2014.
The new contract covers several locations around the county, including employee entrances at Palm Beach International Airport, four Palm Tran locations, eight libraries, John Prince Park and two water utility sites.
Audrey Wolf, who leads the county’s Facilities Development and Operations Department, said late Tuesday that some locations were switched from unarmed to armed. She did not want to reveal all of them for security reasons, but she did say all three Palm Tran bus centers now have armed guards, as will as the “intermodal,” the station
west of downtown West Palm Beach that serves Palm Tran, Tri-Rail, Greyhound, Amtrak and the West Palm Beach trolley.
In 2013, USI had been the second-lowest bidder for the job, and Norred the third. The winning bidder, A and Associates, started in September 2013 but quit in February 2014 and the county turned to USI.
Wolf said Tuesday she decided to end USI’s contract early because of “a number of performance issues.” She and county Purchasing Director Kathleen Scarlett said USI was having problems providing enough guards, and some were late or didn’t show.
“It was a struggle” for USI, Scarlett said. “It was very hard to compete with the larger firms.”
Wolf said she’ll reassess specs to see if the county’s making it too difficult for the vendors.
“We need to get to the bottom of what’s causing those issues,” she said. “It’s not in our best interests to say ‘the vendor couldn’t perform’ and forget it.”
Norred already provides security for the main county courthouse under a separate contract, Wolf said.
On Tuesday morning, Seth C. Behn, attorney for Advanced National Security, which is a subcontractor with both Norred and USI, made an unsuccessful pitch for commissioners to, instead of approving the emergency contract, go with a month-to-month deal and immediately rebid the job.
“(Tuesday’s) contract is an emergency. That decision that the county made created that emergency,” Behn said. “You’re awarding a one-year contract for security services for a company that we’re not sure has been vetted properly.”
Behn was referring to the fact that Norred’s state and local licenses and permits had lapsed earlier this month. Wolf told commissioners Norred blamed a clerical error related to corporate addresses. She said she confirmed Norred now is current across the board. She also said Norred has had the proper insurance all along.
Wolf told commissioners rebidding now would interrupt continuity and likely would lead to higher prices.
Wolf said Norred had been the third lowest bidder when USI had bid in 2013 and had agreed to honor its 2013 bid price. She said a new bid likely would be higher, and would add on the costs of the federal Affordable Care Act.
Norred managers did not respond to inquires made Monday and Tuesday.