Gannon CEO responds to City of Apopka Request for Proposals 

Chris Gannon, the CEO of Gannon Emergency Solutions, emailed The Apopka Voice a statement about the City of Apopka's Request for Proposals process to hire a consultant for the Apopka Fire Department. Gannon delivered a 45-page analysis of the AFD in January, followed by a 27-page rebuttal to the City/AFD's 145 edits made to the original report.

The Apopka City Council, at its March 15th meeting, voted to open an RFP to hire a consultant after receiving  Apopka Fire Chief Sean Wylam's presentation of the Gannon report. But according to Gannon, the process does not address many of the issues outlined in its report. Here is Gannon's statement, in his own words:

Public Statement Regarding the City of Apopka Request for Proposals 

Consultant: Apopka Fire Department Health and Safety Implementation April 2nd, 2023 

Since publishing the draft report in January, there has been significant public debate on the value of hiring Gannon Emergency Solutions (GES) to implement the recommendations made.  

My name and company name has been mentioned frequently by city officials, in the media, and in other forums. My team and I feel obliged to state our concerns about the Apopka Fire Department (AFD) and this Request for Proposals (RFP) process. 

During the review, a majority of AFD members expressed a desire to see some external, independent experience brought in to help to reform the department. 

An 85% vote of no confidence in the current Fire Chief by its membership was presented on March 1st. 

The Gannon report findings and recommendations have been officially accepted. 

Recommendation number one is hiring a Change Manager to oversee the organizational and cultural changes urgently needed. 

At the city council meeting of March 15th, following a presentation from the Fire Chief, a decision was taken to develop an RFP from suitable companies to bid for the job of change management. Despite the widespread appreciation of our work, there is absolutely no obligation for the City of Apopka to hire GES. 

However, the following summarizes why this RFP clearly precludes our ability to participate and why it is not designed to address the full range of issues identified in our report. 

Independent Assessment and Verification 

Introduction/Summary (section 1): Specifically, the City of Apopka seeks an (sic) consultant for an independent  verification and implementation of key recommendations provided by a recent comprehensive Health and  Safety Review (conducted by a third-party of the Fire Department) 

Scope of Work (section 3): Conduct a detailed and thorough assessment of the Health and Safety Review,  provided by a third-party 

Scope of Work (section 3a): Provide an independent, objective, assessment and verification of the  implementation of key recommendations provided in the Comprehensive Health and Safety review 

How can Gannon Emergency Solutions, the same third-party company, independently assess and verify the findings of our own review?

Sealed Bids 

A proposal for GES to implement the report recommendations was sent to (Apopka Fire) Chief ( Sean)Wylam on January 23rd that outlined the scope, roles, responsibilities, and cost. This was following a meeting on January 16th at Station 1, where  Chief Wylam said he liked the idea of change management and agreed to the submission of a proposal. 

There was no response to that proposal until an unscheduled phone call from Mayor Bryan Nelson (with Chief Wylam, Edward Bass, and Michael Rodriguez stated as being in attendance) at 9:33 am on January 26th. Since then, Mayor Nelson has publicly referred to the proposal cost at the city council meeting of February 1st as ‘out of line’.  

While it is acknowledged that cost is not the only factor in this RFP process, the fact that the figure of  $150,000 has been frequently referred to at city council meetings and in various other forums gives an unfair advantage to other bidders knowing our proposed cost. 

Scope of Work 

The City of Apopka Fire Department is looking to provide a specific focus on our firefighter's occupational safety  and health 

Chief Wylam, in his own words, said GES was hired to conduct a holistic review of the department. The report identified a wide range of issues far beyond inadequate occupational safety and health. The RFP does not reflect or address the holistic problems discovered or the need for cultural and organizational change. The reform of inappropriate workplace behaviors, morale, and trust in leadership is every bit as important as technical compliance with safety and health standards. In addition to the implementation of the key  recommendations and safety recommendations made in the report, the GES proposal of January ’23 included  responsibilities to: 

• Re-Structure and re-organization of the department  
• Coach and mentor the management team 
• Identify and groom candidates for future Deputy Chief and Fire Chief roles 
• Increase and train the health and safety staff 
• Develop a strategic plan for the department and the community 
• Review and revise policy and procedure 
• Develop a new departmental training plan and establish a dedicated training staff • Design and implement work schedules that standardize activity and create operational consistency at  all six stations 
• Visit all stations and shifts regularly to improve lines of communication 
• Introduce and lead proven team-building initiatives to break down the ‘us v them’ culture
• Work with administrative staff in all divisions to maximize efficiency and effectiveness
• Expand relationships with other fire departments 
• Review and revise current building inspection and hydrant inspection programs 

This is what the AFD and the city need. This RFP touches on almost none of these areas and, in my opinion, has been written with the same lack of experience and vision noted throughout the review.

Analysis  

Scope of Work 3a: Analysis of the Department's organization, budget, policies, deployment, equipment,  capacity, and related variables that support or constrain the department's needs regarding health and safety into the future. 

Why is the city asking another independent contractor to analyze the department again? Introducing yet another organization to conduct yet another analysis could be detrimental to the confidence and morale of members who have already been subjected to three independent reviews and at least four staff surveys. 

Gannon earned the trust of members and formed positive relationships during a 7-month process that would be a healthy and logical platform to continue working from.  

RFP Selection Committee 

The Gannon report revealed that member comments had been consistently ignored by management until the vote of no confidence. Member comments in the draft report rebuttal were struck through, and the city attorney didn’t think any of the comments should be published. 

It would be prudent for the city to consider member participation in the selection and evaluation committees for this process. It is time their contribution was embraced, acknowledged, and respected. 

Qualifications 

GES was originally selected from a minimum of three bidders to perform the review of the AFD. Regardless of being under the $50,000 procurement threshold, the hiring process is now completely different. A contract document between Gannon and the city was never produced, issued, or signed by either party. There were no terms and conditions, the scope of work, schedules, or client/contractor responsibilities, and no requirement to provide a list of preferred qualifications.  

The agreement with the city consisted of a Gannon proposal and a city purchase order, which is a first in my experience. The city trusted us and selected us based on their research, due diligence, and professional profile. 

It is puzzling that the city selected and described GES as ‘industry-leading, subject matter experts' to conduct a  review with recommendations, then designs an RFP for implementation clearly limiting opportunities to applicants with a specific Florida profile? 

The Gannon review team for Apopka consisted of: 

• An adjunct professor with a doctorate in emergency management who has served as a Chief at three ISO Class 1 career departments in the state of Florida. 
• A former Chief who has inspected over 350 US departments and is one of the top-rated safety inspectors for the insurance industry in the country. 
• And a former national fire chief with a global reputation for reform in the industry who has worked on projects in over 40 countries on five continents. 

The AFD and the city have a unique opportunity to tap into a resource with a unique blend of state, national,  and international experience, as well as a network of specialists from far beyond Florida that would help  shape Apopka into a model department

Summary 

The circumstances of the review and the fallout following the report have made this a very challenging and emotive project, but despite this, the GES team is prepared to serve the city and practice what we preach. The most fitting way to honor and respect Austin Duran’s sacrifice is to make the organization safer, more efficient, better led, and more unified. 

This RFP is specifically focusing on health and safety but avoiding the wider issues that influence it. As authors of the Gannon report and the same subject matter experts hired by the city in the first place, it is my firm belief that we would be best placed to do so. Unfortunately, that is not a belief shared by all.  

Christopher (Chris) Gannon, CEO of Gannon Emergency Solutions USA LLC