Item S03 } S.3
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County of Monroe
�y,4 ' �, "tr, BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Mayor Michelle Coldiron,District 2
�1 nff `ll Mayor Pro Tem David Rice,District 4
-Ile Florida.Keys Craig Cates,District 1
Eddie Martinez,District 3
w Mike Forster,District 5
County Commission Meeting
June 16, 2021
Agenda Item Number: S.3
Agenda Item Summary #3372
BULK ITEM: Yes DEPARTMENT: County Attorney's Office
TIME APPROXIMATE: STAFF CONTACT: Cynthia Hall (305) 292-3470
No
AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Approval of Professional Services Agreement with law firm of
McAlpin & Conroy, P.A., for advice and representation on Jones Act matters.
ITEM BACKGROUND: The federal Jones Act covers injuries that occur to employees who work
on boats. The County has at least one employee arguably covered by the Jones Act(the employee
assigned to work on the Key West pumpout boat). Because of that, the County will from time to
time require advice and representation regarding the Jones Act. The law firm of McAlpin & Conroy,
P.A., and its senior partner, Richard J. McAlpin, provide such advice. The professional services
agreement presented for approval spells out the scope of services and hourly billing rates.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
N/A
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
N/A
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval.
DOCUMENTATION:
Professional Services Agreement Monroe County
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Effective Date: June 16, 2021
Expiration Date: None
Total Dollar Value of Contract: TBD
Total Cost to County: TBD
Current Year Portion:
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Budgeted: Yes
Source of Funds: Primarily ad valorem
CPI: No
Indirect Costs: None
Estimated Ongoing Costs Not Included in above dollar amounts:
Revenue Producing: No If yes, amount:
Grant:
County Match:
Insurance Required: Yes, as specified in the Agreement.
Additional Details: Hourly rate for Senior Partner: $285/hour
TBD
REVIEWED BY:
Cynthia Hall Completed 06/04/2021 3:37 PM
Bob Shillinger Completed 06/07/2021 1:19 PM
Budget and Finance Completed 06/08/2021 8:36 AM
Maria Slavik Completed 06/08/2021 9:18 AM
Liz Yongue Completed 06/08/2021 10:41 AM
Board of County Commissioners Pending 06/16/2021 9:00 AM
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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT ("Agreement") is made and entered into this 16th day of June 2021, by and
between MONROE COUNTY, hereinafter referred to as Client, and MCALPIN & CONROY,
P.A., hereinafter referred to as Firm.
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WHEREAS, the Client requires certain professional legal services; and,
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WHEREAS, the Firm represents that it is capable of providing such Services:
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises contained herein, the parties hereto agree
as follows:
ARTICLE 1 - EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERM
The effective date of this Agreement shall be June 16, 2021. The Agreement shall continue in E
full force and effect until terminated either by the Firm or by the Client. Monroe County's 2
obligation to pay is contingent upon annual appropriation by the Monroe County Board of
County Commissioners.
ARTICLE 2 - SERVICE TO BE PERFORMED
The Firm shall provide advice and legal representation with regard to the following matters or
category of matters as requested by Monroe County and subject to the prior approval of the -
Firm: advice and representation regarding Jones Act matters.
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The Firm has conducted a thorough investigation and determined that neither the Firm nor its W
attorneys has any ethical impediment, real or potential, to representing the County. If any such
impediment arises, the Firm shall immediately take steps required by Florida Bar rules to
resolve the conflict or withdraw from representation. If a conflict of interest arises that cannot be
avoided or mitigated under the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Florida Bar, the County
may, in its discretion, (a) obtain reimbursement from the Firm for all fees and costs paid to the
Firm in this matter; and (b) obtain cancellation of all further amounts allegedly owed by the c
County to the Firm.
ARTICLE 3 - COMPENSATION E
FEES:
The following are approved time-keepers and their hourly rates:
Name Hourly Rate
Richard J. McAlpin, Esq., Senior Partner $285.00
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In addition to the above, other partners, associates and paralegals may be assigned by the Firm
to work on Monroe County matters at the hourly rates of $230.00 (partners), $210.00 (senior
associates), $190.00 (associates), and $110.00 (paralegals), respectively.
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The initial time-keepers approved by the County are listed above. This list of time-keepers may
be amended from time to time (including for the addition or deletion of names, or promotion of a
time-keeper from Associate to Partner) upon the prior written approval of the Monroe County
Attorney's Office. In the event that time-keepers are added, their billing rates shall be shown
above, as may be amended from time to time.
COSTS:
1. Travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with and at the rate set forth in the
applicable provisions for "approved travelers" in the Monroe County Code, and will be
summarized on the Monroe County Travel Form with all applicable receipts attached.
2. Other reimbursable expenses will include court filing fees and costs, witness fees
(including experts and consultants) and court reporter fees.
3. All other costs will be non-reimbursable, including but not limited to postage (including
overnight mail), photocopies, facsimiles, telephone charges, courier charges, and computerized
research.
RETAINER
A retainer will not be required.
BILLING
All invoices shall be sent to the Client on a monthly basis. All invoices shall be paid in
accordance with Florida Local Government Prompt Payment Act unless there are disputed
charges. All billing shall be done in .10 hour increments.
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Each invoice will list the names of the attorneys or paralegals working on each matter and the
amount of time expended on the matter by each attorney or paralegal, on a daily basis, with a
short description of the work performed for that billing entry. Each invoice will be submitted with
supporting documentation in a form acceptable to the Clerk of Courts, based on generally
accepted accounting principles, and such laws, rules and regulations as may govern the Clerk's
disbursal of funds.
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The Client will receive early and frequent evaluation of all cases. If the client is not likely to
prevail in litigation, in the Firm's reasonable estimation, the Client will be advised in order to 0)
minimize litigation costs, and settle the case.
ARTICLE 4 - STANDARD OF CARE
The Firm shall exercise the same degree of care, skill, and diligence in the performance of the
Services as is ordinarily provided by Attorneys under similar circumstances and the Firm shall,
at no additional cost to the Client, re-perform services which fail to satisfy the foregoing
standard of care.
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ARTICLE 5 - COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS
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In performance of the Services, the Firm will comply with applicable regulatory requirements
including federal, state, and local laws, rules regulations, orders, codes, criteria and standards.
ARTICLE 6 - INSURANCE
During the performance of the Services under this Agreement, the Firm shall maintain
Professional Liability Insurance, which shall be written by an insurance company authorized to
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do business in Florida. This insurance shall provide coverage against such liability resulting
from this Contract. The minimum limits of coverage shall be $250,000 per claim and $500,000
aggregate.
Certificates of insurance showing coverage in the amounts shown above is in force shall be
submitted at the time of initial execution of the Agreement by both parties. The Firm shall
maintain coverage in force at all times. Thereafter, the Firm shall supply new certificates of W
insurance, showing coverage in force, whenever the policy lapses or is replaced by another
policy.
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ARTICLE 7- MODIFICATION and TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT
Any modification to this Agreement requires the express written consent of both parties.
Client shall have the right to terminate this Agreement or suspend performance thereof without
cause for the Client's convenience upon written notice to the Firm, and the Firm shall have the
right to terminate or suspend performance of Services upon written notice to the Client and
upon terms consistent with the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar and the State and Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure.
ARTICLE 8 - UNCONTROLLABLE FORCES
Neither the Client nor the Firm shall be considered to be in default of this Agreement if delays in
or failure of performance shall be due to Uncontrollable Forces, the effect of which, by the
exercise of reasonable diligence, the non-performing party could not avoid. The term
"Uncontrollable Forces" shall mean any event which results in the prevention or delay of
performance by a party of its obligations under this Agreement and which is beyond the y
reasonable control of the non-performing party. It includes, but is not limited to fire, flood,
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earthquakes, storms, lightning, epidemic, war, riot, civil disturbance, sabotage, and
governmental actions (unless such governmental action is the nonpayment of legal fees).
Neither party shall, however, be excused from performance if nonperformance is due to forces
which are preventable, removable, or remediable and which the non-performing party could
have, with the exercise of reasonable diligence, prevented, removed, or remedied with
reasonable dispatch. The non-performing party shall, within a reasonable time of being
prevented or delayed from performance by an uncontrollable force, give written notice to the
other party describing the circumstances and uncontrollable forces preventing continued
performance of the obligations of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 9- DISPUTE RESOLUTION
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of
Florida. The prevailing party in any proceeding to resolve a dispute under this Agreement shall
be entitled to recover reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees and costs.
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ARTICLE 10 - NOTICE
Any notice required to be given under this Agreement shall be in writing and delivered by
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the other party as follows:
For Monroe County: For the Firm:
Monroe County Attorney's Office Richard J. McAlpin, Esq.
1111 12th St. Suite 408 McAlpin & Conroy, P.A.
Key West, FL 33040 Brickell City Tower
Tel.: (305) 292-3470 80 Southwest 8th Street c
Fax: (305) 292-3516 Suite 2805
Miami, FL 33130 6.
Tel.: 305-810-5400
ARTICLE 11 - ETHICS CLAUSE
The Firm warrants that it has not employed, retained or otherwise had acts on its behalf any
former Monroe County Code officer or employee in violation of Section 2 of Ordinance 10-1990 E
or any current County officer or employee in violation of Section 3 of Monroe County Ordinance 2
20-1990. For breach or violation of this provision, the County may, at its discretion, terminate
this Agreement without liability and may also deduct from the amount owed the full amount of
any fee, commission, percentage, gift or consideration paid to the former or present County
officer or employee.
ARTICLE 12 -GOVERNING LAW
This Agreement shall be governed and construed by and in accordance with the laws of the
State of Florida.
ARTICLE 13 - RECORDS
The Firm shall maintain all books, records, and documents directly pertinent to performance
under this Agreement in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles consistently
applied. If an auditor employed by the County or the Clerk of Courts determines that monies
paid to the Firm were spent for purposes not authorized by this Agreement, the Firm shall repay
the monies together with interest calculated pursuant to Section 55.03, F.S., running from the
date the monies were paid to the Firm.
ARTICLE 14- FLORIDA PUBLIC RECORDS LAW
Per F.S. 119.0701, the Firm shall:
1. Keep and maintain public records required by the public agency to perform the
service.
2. Upon request from the public agency's custodian of public records, provide the
public agency with a copy of the requested records or allow the records to be inspected or N
copied within a reasonable time at a cost that does not exceed the cost provided in this chapter
or as otherwise provided by law.
3. Ensure that public records that are exempt or confidential and exempt from public
records disclosure requirements are not disclosed except as authorized by law for the duration
of the contract term and following completion of the contract if the contractor does not transfer
the records to the public agency.
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4. Upon completion of the contract, transfer, at no cost, to the public agency all public
records in possession of the contractor or keep and maintain public records required by the
public agency to perform the service. If the contractor transfers all public records to the public
agency upon completion of the contract, the contractor shall destroy any duplicate public
records that are exempt or confidential and exempt from public records disclosure requirements.
If the contractor keeps and maintains public records upon completion of the contract, the
contractor shall meet all applicable requirements for retaining public records. All records stored W
electronically must be provided to the public agency, upon request from the public agency's
custodian of public records, in a format that is compatible with the information technology
systems of the public agency.
A contractor who fails to provide public records to Monroe County or pursuant to a valid public
records request within a reasonable time may be subject to penalties under section 119.10,
Florida Statutes.
IF THE CONTRACTOR HAS QUESTIONS REGARDING THE
APPLICATION OF CHAPTER 119, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO THE E
CONTRACTOR'S DUTY TO PROVIDE PUBLIC RECORDS RELATING
TO THIS CONTRACT, CONTACT THE CUSTODIAN OF PUBLIC
RECORDS AT: BRIAN BRADLEY, C/O MONROE COUNTY
ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, 1111 12TH ST., SUITE 408, KEY WEST FL
33040, brad ley-brian&mon , (305) 292-3470.
ARTICLE 15— MISCELLANEOUS N
A. F.S. 287.135: This contract is terminable at the option of the County if the firm is
found to have been placed on the Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel List or is engaged
in a boycott of Israel.
B. Public Entity Crime Statement: A person or affiliate who has been placed on the
convicted vendor list following a conviction for public entity crime may not submit a bid,
proposal, or reply on a contract to provide any goods or services to a public entity, may not
submit a bid, proposal, or reply on a contract with a public entity for the construction or repair of
a public building or public work, may not submit bids on leases of real property to public entity, 0)
may not be awarded or perform work as a contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or consultant
under a contract with any public entity, and may not transact business with any public entity in
excess of the threshold amount provided in Section 287.017, for CATEGORY TWO for a period
of 36 months from the date of being placed on the convicted vendor list.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Client and the Firm have executed this Agreement as of the day
and year first above written.
MCALPIN & CONROY, P.A. MONROE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS
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By: By:
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Name: Richard J. McAlpin Name: Mayor Michelle Coldiron
Title: President Title: Mayor
Date: Date:
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