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Award of Contract and Professional Services Agreement With Zartico, Inc., for Data Services for Tourism Department (Contract No. 26-RFP01300, Amount: $165,000.00 for 3-Year Term)
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BRIEF OVERVIEW
The Procurement Department issued Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 26-RFP01300 on June 12, 2026, at the request of the Hernando County Tourism Department for hotel, lodging, restaurant, and tourist spend data.
The Procurement Department placed the legal advertisement in the Hernando Sun on June 12, 2026 and the OpenGov website on June 17, 2026. The solicitation was sent to six hundred seventy-five (675) matching vendor/contractors from the website. The solicitation document was downloaded by fifty-four (54) vendor/contractors and six (6) submissions were received. Three were disqualified. One failed to submit a proposal, the second wanted the laws of Italy to prevail, and the third took exception to provisions in the solicitation.
The Procurement Department reviewed and evaluated submissions to determine if submissions were responsive and responsible. The Procurement Selection Committee (PSC) met on August 12, 2026 to evaluate the proposals. The committee included Tammy Heon, Tourism Development Manager; Juan Barreto, Systems Coordinator; Kimberly Poppke, Economic Development Marketing Coordinator; and, Angel Turner, Emergency Management Specialist I. The PSC consensus scoring evaluation resulted in the following scores
Firm Total Score (Max Score: 100)
Zartico, Inc. 93.3
Tourism Economics 79.8
Trivelo 64.3
Staff entered into negotiations with the top-ranked firm and successfully completed contract negotiations on September 23, 2026.
A Notice of Intent to Award the contract to Zartico, Inc. dated August 14, 2026, was posted to the OpenGov website. The award is for a three (3) year contract with two (2), one (1) year unilateral renewals. No challenges to the Notice of Intent to Award were received.
The Chief Procurement Officer has reviewed this requirement for conformance to Procurement Ordinance and Purchasing Policies and Procedures.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funding in the amount of $55,000 is available in the following and will be budgeted in subsequent years.
Expense:
Fund: Tourist Development Tax Fund - B120, Department: Tourism - 132, Account: Contracted Services - 533401
LEGAL NOTE
In accordance with Chapter 2, Article V of the Hernando County Code of Ordinances.
recommendation
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board approve and authorize the Chairman’s signature on the attached agreement to Zartico, Inc. for Data Services for Tourism, (Contract No. 26-RFP01300) in the amount of $55,000.00 annually for a total of $165,000 for the three-year term.
It is further recommended the Board authorize the Chief Procurement Officer to renew the contract with the same terms and conditions.