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BERMUDA RUN — Residents lined up to speak in last Tuesday night’s Bermuda Run Town Council meeting in support of the gates and keeping Allied Universal to be charge of them.

They also came to hear a proposed action item on the agenda where Town Manager Andrew Meadwell was requesting consent on pursuing a request for proposal (RFP) process for gate operations that includes a staffing-only model and a staffing/administration model.

“Currently, we are operating on a legacy-type contract over the years with certain amendments, such as levels of service, staffing, things of that kind of nature,” Meadwell explained. “But because this contract has been in place and essentially month-to-month and then year-to-year, it behooves the town to go out on the open market to really see how this pricing actually compares to what we’re paying now or to see what a new vendor may be able to pay for those same types of services.

“An RFP is not a contract. So whatever the council decides on a proposal, you would still approve that, and it would have to be part of a budget process. There are some statutory requirements we have to follow. We just can’t continue to just add on because at some point of time it gets out of the original scope. There’s actually two options, and as you know, we do this kind of thing on a regular basis, whether it is trash, recycle pickup, landscaping or paving contractors, we always go out for PFP to get qualified proposals from vendors.”

Meadwell pointed out that the staffing-only model is currently in operation. However, an all-inclusive model that includes staffing and administration would include not only the manning of the guard houses but taking calls, issuing stickers along with maintenance, landscaping and “all the other things the town is involved with now. There may be contractors and bidders out there that may be able and would want to do parts of the staffing as well as the administration.”

He added that Allied would be welcome to participate in the process.

Mayor Mike Brannon said that he and about dozen individuals, including council member Jeff Tedder, have been part of a gate operations group that was formed last May to explore this next step.

“We’ve had representation from (Bermuda Run) West and representation from multiple HOAs on the east side as well as even those who are not represented by any HOA,” Brannon said. “I think it’s been a very positive journey in an attempt to measure the temperature and gather feedback from those who are paying those fees. The RFP process is essential and a required part of us moving forward to codify a contract with a gate securing vendor. Period.

“It just seems to be the right time to ask the question to understand what this might look like. The feedback from the task group has been very positive in terms of the results that we’ve been able to garner from Allied in working with them and coaching them and counseling them and holding them accountable. But nothing really is in place that would allow us to move forward with an existing contract. We would need to establish a new one anyway, and this is the time to bring in other players to at least ask the question of what does that look like in terms of the cost.”

Responding later to a couple of those who spoke in public comments portion of the meeting — with one saying he “didn’t want anything done with the gates” and the other stating he “liked the gates just the way they are — Tedder said there was “no intention to remove the gates. It’s just a matter of how we manage the gates. That’s what the intention that came out of the gate committee.

“We reached out to other country clubs in the state of North Carolina that had gate services and asked about an equitable fee and what was their comparison. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say some of the calls we got were not in favor of the current Allied group, and we had several folks comment that the gates weren’t operated properly and what can we do about fixing that. And after a conversation with the gate committee and the mayor with Allied, I think Allied really has stepped up and done a nice job. And hopefully, they’ll continue to do that.

“But the residents are paying for this. This is not a town obligation. We all pay as a resident of Bermuda Run. I’ve been here 42 years, so we all pay the gate fee. I think we owe it to ourselves to find out what’s out there and what’s not, and if Allied is the right choice, then so be it.”

Just before council approval on receiving consent on pursuing the RFP process, Meadwell was asked on a timeline for the process and said he would like to see a resolution in three to five months, so that “this would be part of the budget process.”

In other highlights from last Tuesday night’s meeting, the council:

• Heard from Brannon that the town is waiting for clarity involving Senate Bill 382 after basically completing work throughout 2024 on making land use and zoning changes and then moving to Phase 2 — with it going to the Planning Board for its December meeting, before the N.C. Legislature approved the override of that bill on the same day — with the last page including changes that impact the restriction of local governments to implement down zoning. “What we are doing is hitting the pause button, and let’s see what we learn,” Brannon said. So I share that to explain we were on a commitment that we made and got stopped literally on the 1-yard line.”
• Heard that Mike Foster, the town’s community officer, will be leaving his position in March to pursue other opportunities with the Sheriff’s Office. It was also announced that Foster would be recognized for his outstanding job in Bermuda Run in the February council meeting.