07/16/2008 Agreement
DANNYL. KOLHAGE
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
DATE:
July 31, 2008
TO:
Suzanne A. Hutton
County Attorney
ATTN:
Kathy M Peters
Executive Assistant
FROM:
Pamela G. Hanct1C1Jtv
Deputy Clerk U
At the July 16, 2008, Board of County Commissioner's meeting, the Board granted
approval and authorized execution of a Professional Services Agreement, with Trauner
Consulting Services, Inc., and to waive the purchasing policy to enable County to continue .to use
Trauner as a technical expert in the case of The Tower Group vs. Monroe County.
Enclosed is a duplicate original of the above-mentioned for your handling. Should you
have any questions please do not hesitate to contact this office.
cc: Finance
. ,.
File.!
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
BETWEEN MONROE COUNTY AND
TRAUNER CONSULTING SERVICES, INe.
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THIS AGREEMENT made and entered into this ~ day of , 2008, by and between the
MONROE COUNTY ("COUNTY"), a political subdivision of e te of Florida whose address
is 1100 Simonton Street, Key West, Florida 33040, and TRAUNER CONSULTING SERVICES,
INC. ("TRA UNER"), a professional consulting corporation, whose address is 16 I 7 JFK Boulevard _
Suite 600, Philadelphia, PAl 91 03, hereby enter into this Agreement regarding the retention of
TRAUNER by COUNTY to provide consulting services in the case of The Tower Group, Inc, vs.
Monrol' County Board of County Commissioners, Case No. 07-CA-1428K (Litigation).
WHEREAS, COUNTY desires to continue the services ofTRAUNER to provide expert technical
consultltion in review of construction documents, research and related expert opinion, and, if
necessary, expert testimony; and
WHEREAS, TRAUNER desires to provide the services to the COUNTY;
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and provisions contained herein,
the parties agree as follows:
I. TRAUNER will provide expert consultation and technical advice in the areas of
construction document review, related research, and expert testimony, if requested, by COUNTY in
the litigation.
2. The parties agree that TRAUNER was originally hired under the Agreement between the
COUNTY and GrayIRobinson P.A. as amended on June 20, 2007; however, as the litigation has
proceeded it has become more reasonable to enter into this separate Agreement with TRAUNER.
3. This Agreement is retroactive to July 1,2007, and shall become effective upon signature
by all parties and shall continue in effect until services are completed or terminated by either
party, with or without cause, upon fifteen (15) days written notice to the other party.
4. TRAUNER shall bill COUNTY at the hourly rate and time for approved time
keepers. Records of the time expended and description of the service performed by each time-
keeper shall be detailed separately on the invoices. Personnel who are not listed as timekeepers
will not be paid unless approved in writing under the requirements of this Agreement.
Hourlv Rates. and Changes to hourlv rates are set at:
Approved Time Keepers:
Name:
Scott Lowe
Richard Burnham
Mackie Chapman
Cheryl McBride
John Crane
Brian Furniss
Vincent Rotonda
Charles Kesler
Hourly Rate:
285.00
185.00
185.00
185.00
180.00
160.00
160.00
135.00
Sean Bader
Marcus Greene
Anna Shkil
Janet Montgomery
Donna Lane
Deborah Lorenzen
T eri Doss
Goribel Perez
125.00
125.00
105.00
105.00
105.00
75.00
55.00
55.00
5. TRAUNER shall be reimbursed for travel and other expenses only to the extent and the
amounlts authorized by Article XXVI of the Monroe County Code, payment will be made
periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, in arrears. Expenses shall be submitted by
TRAUJ'lER and authorized by COUNTY in writing with backup documentation as required by
the Clerk of Court. Invoices shall include copies of receipts for all. Travel expenses will be
reimbursed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Florida Statute 112.321 and of the
Monroe County Code for "approved travelers" and shall be summarized on the Monroe County
Travel Form with all applicable receipts attached thereto. Airplane travel shall be verified by the
attachment of a boarding pass or by a waiver.
6. The COUNTY'S performance and obligation to pay under this Agreement is contingent
upon an annual appropriation by the Board of County Commissioners.
7. COUNTY and TRAUNER acknowledge that COUNTY does not waive any immunity
nor does COUNTY agree to hold consultant harmless; notwithstanding the provision of Sec.
768.28, Florida Statutes, the participation ofTRAUNER and COUNTY in this Agreement and
the acquisition of any commercial liability insurance coverage, self-insurance, or local
government liability insurance pool coverage shall not be deemed a waiver of immunity to the
extent of liability coverage, nor shall any contract entered into by COUNTY be required to
contain any provision for waiver.
8. County and Contractor agree that there will be no discrimination against any person, and
it is expressly understood that upon a determination by a court of competent jurisdiction that
discrimiination has occurred, this Agreement automatically terminates without any further action
on the part of any party, effective the date of the court order. County or Contractor agree to
comply with all Federal and Florida statutes, and all local ordinances, as applicable, relating to
nondiscrimination. These include but are not limited to: I) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 (PL 88-352) which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin; 2)
Title IX ofthe Education Amendment of 1972, as amended (20 USC ss. 1681-1683, and 1685-
1686), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex; 3) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973, as amended (20 USC s. 794), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of handicaps;
4) The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended (42 USC ss. 6101-6107) which prohibits
discrimination on the basis of age; 5) The Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 1972 (PL 92-
255), as amended, relating to nondiscrimination on the basis of drug abuse; 6) The
Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Act of
1970 (PL 91-616), as amended, relating to nondiscrimination on the basis of alcohol abuse or
alcoholism; 7) The Public Health Service Act of 1912, ss. 523 and 527 (42 USC ss. 690dd-3 and
290ee-3), as amended, relating to confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patent records; 8)
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 USC s. et seq.), as amended, relating to
nondiscrimination in the sale, rental or financing of housing; 9) The Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (42 USC s. ]201 Note), as maybe amended ITom time to time, relating to
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nondiscrimination on the basis of disability; 10) Any other nondiscrimination provisions in any
Federal or state statutes which may apply to the parties to, or the subject matter of, this
Agreement.
9. NOTICE REOUIREMENT
Any notice required or permitted under this agreement shall be in writing and hand delivered or
mailed, postage prepaid, to the other party by certified mail, returned receipt requested, to the
follow:ing:
FOR COUNTY
County Attorney
PO Box 1026
Key West, FL. 33040
FOR TRAUNER:. oJ>
.:Tel,,, c5~o~ L
/1'/7 Sf'/( )., vard -sti. &;/00
P"-'I",-~~ .pH "1103
1:Oi>.1~) 11'1'1 ~ /'<too
10. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the
State of Florida applicable to contracts made and to be performed entirely in the State. Venue for
any legal action which may arise out of or under this agreement shall be in Monroe County,
Florida.
II. The entire agreement between the COUNTY and TRAUNER with respect to the subject
matter hereof is contained in this Agreement. This Agreement supersedes all prior oral and
written IProposals and communications between the COUNTY and TRAUNER related to this
Agreement. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed waived, amended or modified by
either party unless such waiver, amendment or modification is in writing and signed by the party
against whom the waiver, amendment or modification is claimed. This Agreement shall be
binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto, their permitted successors and assigns.
12. TRAUNER agrees to forward to COUNTY along with Notice of Termination or upon
receipt of Notice of Termination, depending upon which party terminates the Agreement, copies
of all documents in his or her possession of any nature whatsoever related to TRAUNER'S
consultaltion with COUNTY or obtained thereto.
13. If a term, covenant, condition or provision of this Agreement shall be declared invalid or
unenforceable to any extent by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining terms, covenants,
conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby; and each remaining
term, covenant, condition and provision of this Agreement shall be valid and shall be enforceable
to the fullest extent permitted by law unless the enforcement of the remaining terms, covenants,
conditions and provision of this Agreement would prevent the accomplishment of the original
intent of this Agreement. The COUNTY and TRAUNER agree to reform the Agreement to
replace any stricken provision with a valid provision that comes as close as possible to the intent
of the stricken provision.
14. This Agreement may not be modified in any way without the express, written consent
of both parties. Any and all modifications and Amendments of the terms of this Agreement shall
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be in writing and executed by the Board of County Commissioners for Monroe County and by
TRAUNER in the same manner as this Agreement.
15. COUNTY and TRAUNER agree that nothing contained herein shall create any
relationship, contractual or otherwise, with or any rights in favor of, any third party.
16. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be
regarded as an original, all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same instrument
and th(~ COUNTY and TRAUNER may execute this Agreement by signing any such counterpart.
17. COUNTY and TRAUNER agree that if any dispute and disagreement arise between them
they shall be attempted to be resolved by a meet and confer session between representatives of
each party. If the issue or issues are still not resolved to the satisfaction of both parties, then any
party shall have the right to seek such relief or remedy as may be provided under the Agreement
or under Florida law. The parties further agree that no party to this Agreement shall be required to
enter into any arbitration proceeding s related to this Agreement.
18. COUNTY and TRAUNER agree that neither presently has any interest, and shall not
acquire: any interest, which would conflict in any manner or degree with its performance under
this Agreement, and that the only interest of each is to perform and receive benefits as recited in
this Agreement.
}'HIS AGREEMENT will become effective when executed by both the TRAUNER and
/~liec:Uti;lt'1l.y'ihe Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida.
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\:<"'t'tc,,- '~{i'~~ge, lerk By:
\'..,:>:f/::""5.?,7?:: Mario Di Genwrr~ Ma)(\K
'. . '" ' Date: JUL 1 6 zuu8
Date,
Witness to TRAUNER:
Signature
Print Name
Address,
DATE:
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MONROE COUNTY ATTORNEY
PROVED AS TO)7)RM:
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NATILEENE W. CASSEL
ASSIST1T coy;gy ATTORNEY
Date ~.:10 f?
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