The Palatka City Commission voted to approve a work order with Hanson Engineers to provide bid administration, construction administration and observation for a previously awarded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) sidewalk project despite objections from at least one commissioner who cited a conflict of interest involving a former city employee now at Hanson.

What happened: Staff said Hanson designed the project and that continuing with the designer for bid and construction administration is common practice because the designer knows the project details. Commissioner objections focused on the fact that a former city employee who worked on the project later joined Hanson; the commissioner described that employment change as a possible conflict. Staff and the city attorney told the commission the city and Hanson had executed a written amendment to their continuing services agreement that excluded the former employee from work on city projects to create an internal ‘‘firewall.’’

Commission debate and legal context: Commissioners pressed staff and the attorney about when the contract work began, whether the former employee had been involved earlier as a city employee, and whether continuing with Hanson now could present an appearance or actuality of impropriety. Staff said the original design work dates back to 2022 and that the city had since placed written limits on the former employee’s involvement. The city manager emphasized the potential loss of a $5,000,000 CDBG grant if procurement and performance did not proceed; staff said the grant administrator was evaluating performance and that the city needed to show progress to secure an extension.

Vote: The commission approved the Hanson work order on a roll-call vote: Commissioners Davis, Campbell and Chair Carrera voted yes; Commissioners Jones and Navarro voted no. Following the vote, staff said the city would proceed to bid and to meet the grant performance schedule.

Why it matters: Staff said delaying the contract or reprocurement could jeopardize a $5 million federally funded sidewalk/streetscape grant and that the city needs a consulting engineer to administer bidding and construction. Opponents said the earlier employment relationship raised a conflict or an appearance-of-conflict; staff countered that written safeguards had been executed.

Next steps: Staff will move forward with work order execution and bid administration for the CDBG-funded sidewalks project and said it would report back on procurement progress. The commission record includes a direction to evaluate potential procurement alternatives if future issues arise.