Roscoe trustees hear engineering SOQs; firms outline CIP, grant work and on-site support

The Roscoe Village Board heard presentations from three engineering firms about providing the village’s general engineering services and discussed capital-improvement planning and grant strategy during a special meeting. Seth Gronewold of Grama, Frank McCurran of R.H. Batterman (Batterman), and representatives from Hutchison each described team structure, fee approaches and how they would support day-to-day operations and larger capital projects.

Why it matters: The village’s choice of a general-services engineering firm shapes project timelines, permitting coordination, grant applications and how quickly street and utility projects move from planning to construction.

Gronewold emphasized local continuity and flexible fee options. "We'd like to have quarterly meetings," he said, describing a model that pairs an on-site engineer with off-site technical support. Gronewold outlined three fee options: a shared agreement with the city of South Beloit that yielded a lower average hourly charge and an illustrative annual cost in the documentation (about $87,000), a full five-day village contract (about $146,000), and an as-requested higher hourly-rate option for irregular use. He said Grama had provided general services to Roscoe for more than 16 years and proposed Brandon Pollock as the on-site engineer, with Tyler Nelson as senior project manager for capital projects and development review.

Trustees pressed Gronewold on how the firm would identify grants and prioritize projects. Gronewold described an in-house grants group and recommended a five-year capital improvement plan (CIP) so the firm could map funding opportunities to defined projects. He gave a ballpark price of $30,000 to $35,000 to prepare a CIP, adding that the final cost depends on level of detail.

Batterman representatives framed their pitch around local presence and municipal experience. Frank McCurran, Batterman’s president, and project managers Jason Dupuis and Nicholas James described municipal plan review, surveying and construction management capacity and said their firm would avoid private-sector conflicts in Roscoe if retained. They said their team is prepared to step in as an extension of village staff and to provide permit review and timely responses.

Hutchison’s presentation stressed state-agency experience, downtown reconstruction work and grant wins. Shane Larson and Marcy Leech said their office would match staff to tasks so Roscoe would receive appropriate senior or mid-level attention. Marcy Leech noted utility coordination experience and stormwater-permit work; Andy Heflin highlighted IDOT coordination and recent downtown reconstruction projects that included ADA improvements, streetscaping and separated bike facilities. Hutchison said it had helped communities secure federal funding — including ITEP and similar programs — and emphasized proactive communication: "If you don't hear from me in 24 hours, you better call it in," Larson said.

Across presentations trustees repeatedly stressed transparent, responsive communication and regular check-ins. Trustee Mike Sotto asked what a quarterly check-in would look like; Gronewold described a brief written synopsis of each active project plus an open dialogue. Multiple trustees encouraged starting a capital plan immediately to allow design and permitting work to proceed ahead of construction seasons; one trustee said simply, "Today," when asked when to begin preparing a CIP.

What was not decided: The board did not select a firm at the meeting. Following the presentations the board recessed into executive session for personnel matters; when they returned the clerk said, "No action was taken in executive session." The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn that passed by voice vote.

The firms differed in scale and approach but converged on three themes trustees flagged as priorities: (1) clearer, regular communication between firm and staff/board; (2) a village CIP so grant opportunities can be matched to defined projects; and (3) on-site presence for routine municipal work with separate resources available for larger capital efforts and permitting coordination.

The village president and staff will proceed with the procurement timeline and next steps for selection outside the meeting; no selection or contract award was announced at the session.