Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Disney oversight district revealed Tuesday it had canceled a contract with a politically connected telecommunications entrepreneur’s company as scrutiny mounted over its decision not to open the project to competitive bids.
Earlier this month, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District authorized a $242,500 no-bid contract with Figgers Communication to help update its 911 network.
That company’s founder, Freddie Figgers, briefly served with Disney district administrator Glen Gilzean on the Florida Commission on Ethics. Both were appointed to the ethics board by DeSantis.
District officials said they would open the contract to bids at Figgers’ request and defended their rationale for wanting to expedite the project. WFTV first reported on the no-bid deal, putting a spotlight on the district’s decision to waive competitive bidding.
“They [Figgers Communication] do not wish to continue under the current atmosphere and wish to participate in a bidding process instead,” Matthew Oberly, the district’s director of external affairs, said Tuesday. “Which is unfortunate as now we will have to start over.”
In a letter to the district on Monday, Figgers requested an open bidding process to “err on the side of caution” and ensure the “best value” for taxpayers.
“We welcome the opportunity for an open bidding process and are confident that it will reveal that our proposal to implement the 911 wireless and VOIP emergency services was very reasonable, with no intention of taking advantage of the District,” Figgers wrote.
District officials say the contract is critical to fixing an issue with 911 calls going unanswered, and Figgers Communication was able to meet the compressed 120-day timeline.
Oberly defended the contract in an interview before the district’s decision to cancel the deal.
“It follows all of the procurement guidelines,” he said. “It was a critical urgent need.”
The contract met three bidding exceptions in the district’s purchasing policy for urgent operational needs, wireless networks, and proprietary software, he said.
But Ben Wilcox, research director at Integrity Florida, said the deal still raised questions about whether favoritism played a role in the selection process. Bidding requirements should only be waived if a compelling reason exists, he said.
“It’s always better to have a bidding process,” Wilcox said. “I don’t know if this is the only company that could provide these services. You can’t find that out unless you put it out there for a competitive bidding process.”
When the state took over the district, DeSantis vowed to end “no-bid procurements” in the Disney district. A DeSantis spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the 911 no-bid deal.
The contract was made final on Oct. 12. It is part of a $1 million project to enable wireless and voice-over-internet-protocol calls to be routed directly to the district’s 911 communications center.
Figgers Communication was hired to assist with “consulting, negotiating and requesting approval from state and federal regulators on behalf of the district,” according to the contract. The scope of work also included designing an “efficient call flow plan” that will enhance the district’s 911 network and eliminate routing through Orange County.
A two-person consulting team was to be paid $485 an hour for an expected 500 hours of work with a total price tag of $242,500, according to the contract.
District officials wanted to move quickly because of a WFTV report in August that revealed Orange County’s 911 center was failing to pick up calls in time and missing state benchmarks, Oberly said.
Internal documents obtained by WFTV showed dispatchers picked up 80.5% of calls within 10 seconds in June, short of the 90% required by state guidelines.
The 911 center is operated by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which also has a contract to provide law enforcement services for Disney properties. The district’s Reedy Creek Fire Department handles fire protection and emergency medical services.
Gilzean was not involved in awarding the contract to Figgers Communication, and the purchasing department took the lead, Oberly said.
But an Aug. 4 internal email obtained by the Orlando Sentinel shows that Paula Hoisington, Gilzean’s chief of staff, introduced Figgers to Tiffany Kimball, the district’s purchasing officer
“Tiffany please meet Freddie Figgers, Chief Executive Officer, Figgers Communication Inc. Tiffany, per our conversation please reach out to Freddy to discuss information needed for contracting,” Hosington wrote in the email.
Asked by the Orlando Sentinel for a list of 911-related projects completed by Figgers Communication in the past, the district and company officials did not provide one. Company officials say they are well-qualified to handle the job.
“Our experience includes managing wireless networks and developing software and other related technologies. …This initiative falls squarely within the scope of telecommunications network and software technologies,” said Michael Rahman, chief intellectual property officer for Figgers Communication. “Given our experience in these areas, we are well-equipped to contribute our expertise to ensure the success of this project.
Figgers, 34, has made national headlines for his improbable rise in the tech and telecommunications world. He was abandoned at birth next to a dumpster and grew up in Quincy, a small town near Tallahassee, according to a profile by the BBC.
At 21, Figgers was the youngest person to acquire a license from the Federal Communications Commission, NBC News reported. His company, Figgers Communication, was the country’s only Black-owned telecommunications company in America as of 2020, according to the report.
DeSantis appointed Figgers to serve on the Florida Commission on Ethics on July 27. Less than a month later on Aug. 22, Gilzean resigned as chairman of that panel.
Gilzean stepped aside after it was revealed that he was in violation of a state law that prohibits ethics commissioners from holding public employment.
DeSantis’ Disney district hired Gilzean in May to serve in the $400,000-a-year administrator post.
