Pinellas County commissioners voted 4-3 on Friday, Sept. 25, to approve a $1.74 million airport contract over unresolved federal compliance questions.

The deal, tied to the $145 million overhaul of St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, moved forward even as commissioners debated whether the county's scoring system for selecting firms conflicts with federal rules changed nearly a year ago. The commission governs Palm Harbor and other unincorporated areas of Pinellas County.

The split vote, first reported by the St. Pete Catalyst, came after Commissioner Vince Nowicki received an anonymous email hours before the meeting questioning whether Pinellas should proceed under scoring criteria established in 2024. Nowicki told the Catalyst after the vote that the decision to move forward without a legal review was "reckless."

The contract awards American Infrastructure Development the role of owner's representative during preconstruction of the airport's passenger terminal improvements. County officials said the work could eventually total about $6 million once construction services are added.

The scoring concern

When Pinellas solicited proposals in 2024, its scoring sheet awarded firms up to 25 of 1,000 possible points for "Minority Business Status," up to 100 points for Pinellas County Small Business Enterprise certification and another 25 points based on location.

In October 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation removed race- and sex-based presumptions from its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program through an interim final rule. The rule also barred race- and sex-based contracting requirements tied to federal grants.

Pinellas set its scoring criteria before that change. Commissioners voted on the contract nearly a year later.

The anonymous email Nowicki received, along with a follow-up notice sent after the vote, alleged that the county's minority-business, Small Business Enterprise and geographic scoring preferences could conflict with federal requirements tied to airport funding. The notice asked officials to preserve score sheets, funding records and communications related to the procurement.

No federal agency has determined that Pinellas County violated procurement rules.

County response

County Attorney Jewel White told commissioners her office had not yet had time to assess the concern, calling it a very recently raised issue she could not answer at that point. White later said Pinellas uses a Small Business Enterprise program, not the type of disadvantaged-business program she initially understood the complaint to target.

Nowicki said his concern was the separate "Minority Business Status" provision in the scoring criteria.

County Administrator Barry Burton said in a statement Saturday, Sept. 26, that the county believes all federal requirements were followed but will review the issue with purchasing and legal staff to ensure it meets current procurement standards.

"I don't want to be sideways with the FAA when we're getting tens of millions of dollars to the airport," Nowicki said at the meeting.

Cost and timeline pressure

Commissioner Brian Scott moved to approve the contract. Commissioner Kathleen Peters seconded it. Peters pointed to financial consequences, saying she was concerned that delays would push costs higher than projected.

Staff said reviewing the scoring concern would not necessarily require a new procurement. But restarting the process could add more than six months to the project timeline.

The terminal project has grown from about $110 million to roughly $145 million as its scope expanded. Funding is expected to come from airport revenue, passenger facility charges and state and federal grants. Construction is expected to begin in 2028 and wrap up by 2032.

Seven firms submitted proposals for the owner's representative contract, according to the commission agenda. American Infrastructure Development ranked first. Two certified Small Business Enterprise sub-consultants were included in the award, totaling about 17% of the contract amount.

No timeline has been set for the county's legal and procurement review of the scoring issue.