Council approves Quiddity Engineering contract to manage $110M regional drainage program; initial work order $736,470

The Bellaire City Council voted Oct. 20, 2025, to award a program-management professional services contract to Quiddity Engineering LLC to manage the city’s multi-year regional drainage and associated wastewater program. The council approved an initial, six‑month work order in the amount of $736,470 for onboarding, communications, design review, bid-phase support and construction management planning.

Assistant City Manager and City Engineer Beth Jones said the city lacks the full‑time staff capacity to deliver a program of the scale now planned — an estimated $110 million of interconnected projects. Jones said the program-manager role will oversee and coordinate Cypress Street widening, construction of a south detention pond, construction of a force main to connect to the City of Houston wastewater treatment system, demolition of Bellaire’s existing wastewater plant and construction of a north detention pond.

Jones described the initial work order as time-and-materials for the first six months; Quiddity will place two staff on-site (one full-time, one part-time) and provide technical bench strength for design-quality–assurance reviews and bid and construction-phase support. Jones said staff will further refine scopes and return with subsequent work orders after the first six months.

Steve Birkenhoff, Quiddity’s senior vice president, said Quiddity was founded in Houston in 1976, has a local headquarters and brings program-delivery experience and bench strength to supplement city staff and the design teams. He said the contract is structured to scale up or down and to minimize overlap with the city’s other consultants as roles are clarified.

Council discussion was supportive; several members thanked Jones and staff for the procurement process and emphasized the need for integrated oversight to avoid constructability problems and schedule slippage. The motion to approve the contract and work order passed unanimously.