1. Approve an Agreement with Dickinson & Associates, Inc. for program development under RFP180521LKD, Fertilizer Education/Outreach Program Development, for a three-year period in the amount of $125,000.00 annually.

2. Authorize the County Manager or designee to add or delete work, locations or services as needed and to execute any documents necessary for these changes.

3. Grant the County Manager or designee the authority to negotiate renewal of the contract, including changes in price, for up to one additional three-year period, and/or to extend the contract up to six months, and to execute all associated documents, with County Administration approval, as approved in the department’s annual adopted budgets, if doing so is in the best interest of Lee County.

4. Authorize the Chairman to execute the contract documents on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners.

On May 13, 2008, the Board adopted Lee County Ordinance #08-08 which regulates landscape management practices including the application and use of fertilizers.

On January 7, 2014, the Board approved of negotiating a contract with Dickinson and Associates to provide a fertilizer education and outreach program.    The term of the contract was for a maximum of five years.

Since the current contract expires in January 2019, Lee County Natural Resources submitted a request to Procurement Management to obtain proposals to provide fertilizer education/outreach program development.  Detailed work under this contract shall include, but may not be limited to, development of a public education campaign to engage and educate the citizens of Southwest Florida on the responsible use of fertilizer through the use of media, TV/PSA production, workshop presentations, website, social media/Facebook & Instagram, collateral—fact sheets, PowerPoint templates & IMAG Kiosk.

On November 2, 2018, Procurement Management advertised RFP180521LKD, Fertilizer Education/Outreach Program Developer.  On the proposal deadline of December 6, 2018, Procurement Management received one proposal from the incumbent vendor, Dickinson & Associates, Inc.  An evaluation meeting was held on December 20, 2018, during which the Evaluation Committee considered criterion as listed in the solicitation request including such items as qualifications of the company, company relevant experience and references, plan of approach/value pricing and personnel.  Based on the information submitted by Dickinson & Associates, Inc., the Committee reached a consensus to negotiate with and recommend award of a contract to Dickinson & Associates, Inc.

Total expenditures for these services for Fiscal Year 2017 – 2018 were approximately $92,610.00.  Increase in expenditures from last year due to intent to develop new creative materials.

Excessive nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from fertilizer used on urban lawns and landscapes can have a detrimental effect on water quality in Southwest Florida. This is particularly true during Florida’s rainy season (June–October). Excess nutrients in stormwater runoff can stimulate algae blooms, including drift algae, blue-green algae, and has been implicated in red tide blooms. These blooms can result in harmful impacts to our beaches, wildlife, and the local economy.

Responsible use of fertilizer, including rainy season blackout periods imposed by local ordinances, is a cost effective way of controlling nutrient pollution entering our waterways and estuaries. Equally effective, possibly more so, would be to increase awareness among urban fertilizer users of the risk to our local waters from fertilizer runoff. Among these users are the many citizens who regularly apply fertilizer to promote the health and growth of their lawns and landscapes.

The purpose of this program is to develop a public education campaign to engage and educate the citizens of Southwest Florida on the responsible use of fertilizers. This educational campaign will include several different educational and outreach components utilizing print, radio, TV, web, and social media to deliver the message. The primary goal of this Campaign is to educate citizens on the connection between excessive fertilizer use in commercial and urban landscapes and its resulting impact on our coastal water quality and economy. The broad-based outreach effort will seek to inform and educate the public about how nutrient loading affects our waters and the link between improved water quality and the implementation of proper fertilizer use and associated best management practices.