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Board discusses interim engineer agreement, bridge inspection RFP and plans for candidate interviews
Summary
The board discussed renewing a 28E interim county engineer sharing agreement with Mills County, a state‑required bridge inspection RFP that will be sent to four firms, and plans to interview candidates for a permanent county engineer with possible assistance from MAPA or external professionals.
Board members discussed next steps for interim county engineer coverage, a bridge inspection request for proposals (RFP) and a hiring process for a permanent county engineer.
Staff reported that an existing 28E agreement with Mills County for an interim county engineer — approved Aug. 19 for 30 days — will expire on Sept. 18, 2025, and the board will need to decide whether to renew the agreement; a supervisor said someone should contact Mills County about renewal. The board asked staff to place the renewal on the next agenda if they intend to extend the agreement.
Staff said the discretionary grant application for a tribal assistance pilot program submitted with Harrison County had been filed. Staff also described a state‑required bridge inspection RFP prepared by county staff and said it is ready to be distributed to four firms (McClure, HGM, Kirk & Michael, Calhoun Burns) with responses due to the auditor’s office by Sept. 23. The auditor’s office will receive proposals to avoid lost submittals and the interim engineer could review responses and select the vendor.
On hiring, staff and board members discussed standing up an interview committee of three to five people with subject‑matter experts so candidate interviews are not held in an open public forum with the full board; board members also proposed interviewing two identified applicants as soon as possible and requested that staff contact those applicants. The transcript records that MAPA offered to assist and that candidates could request closed sessions for interviews; county counsel said interviews conducted by the full board could be in open session unless a candidate requested a closed session under Iowa Code 21.5(1)(c).
Board members agreed to have staff contact applicants and attempt to schedule interviews, with some members indicating they wished to attend interviews themselves. Staff said it will add an agenda item next week to appoint interim MAPA RPA technical committee representatives and finalize coverage until a county engineer is hired.
Ending: The board did not take a final hiring vote at the meeting; staff will contact Mills County about the interim agreement, distribute the bridge inspection RFP, solicit proposals and schedule candidate interviews for the county engineer position, with possible assistance from MAPA or external professionals.
